WO2016027352A1 - Air purifier and appliance having air purifying functionality - Google Patents

Air purifier and appliance having air purifying functionality Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2016027352A1
WO2016027352A1 PCT/JP2014/071909 JP2014071909W WO2016027352A1 WO 2016027352 A1 WO2016027352 A1 WO 2016027352A1 JP 2014071909 W JP2014071909 W JP 2014071909W WO 2016027352 A1 WO2016027352 A1 WO 2016027352A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
air
wind
wind direction
area
people
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/JP2014/071909
Other languages
French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
草太 小前
あゆみ 斎木
志賀　彰
洋介 久下
好孝 明里
乳井　一夫
Original Assignee
三菱電機株式会社
三菱電機ホーム機器株式会社
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by 三菱電機株式会社, 三菱電機ホーム機器株式会社 filed Critical 三菱電機株式会社
Priority to CN201480081371.5A priority Critical patent/CN106662350B/en
Priority to PCT/JP2014/071909 priority patent/WO2016027352A1/en
Priority to JP2016543548A priority patent/JP6264463B2/en
Priority to TW103137350A priority patent/TWI622739B/en
Publication of WO2016027352A1 publication Critical patent/WO2016027352A1/en

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F11/00—Control or safety arrangements
    • F24F11/89—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F7/00—Ventilation
    • F24F7/003—Ventilation in combination with air cleaning

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an air purifier having a function of purifying sucked air and blowing it out, and an equipment having an air purifying function.
  • Patent Document 1 As a prior art, for example, an air cleaner as described in Patent Document 1 is known.
  • the position of a person existing in the room is detected, and for example, the air direction of the blown air is controlled so that the air blown from the air cleaner does not hit the person. Further, when a person is away from the air cleaner, the air volume of the blown air is increased.
  • the applicant has recognized the following documents including the above-mentioned documents as related to the present invention.
  • the air direction is controlled so that the blown air does not hit a person, or the air volume is increased so that the blown air reaches a place away from the air cleaner.
  • the cleaning of the area where the person exists becomes slow.
  • cleaning of areas where no people are present is slowed down, so that the contamination level of the entire room is difficult to decrease.
  • stagnation of air dirty
  • the present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to clean the indoor air as a whole efficiently while suppressing discomfort given to the user, and the stagnation of dirty air. It aims at providing the equipment which has an air cleaner which can suppress that a part arises, and an air purifying function.
  • An air purifier cleans a casing having an air inlet and an outlet, a blower that sucks indoor air from the inlet and blows the air to the outlet, and air sucked from the inlet Cleansing means, wind direction adjustment mechanism that can change the air direction of the air blown from the air outlet in the left and right direction within a preset wind direction variable range, information on indoor people and animals, sources of air pollution and pollution
  • An information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the information relating to the level as room information, and a control unit for controlling the wind direction adjusting mechanism based on the room information.
  • a first direction selecting means for selecting a first direction, which is a direction in which air is to be cleaned, based on room information; and a second direction, in which the air is to be cleaned next to the first direction within the variable air direction range.
  • Select the direction Second direction selecting means for performing the cleaning and cleaning control for executing the air cleaning operation by changing the wind direction to the second direction after executing the air cleaning operation for a specified time in a state where the wind direction is directed to the first direction Means.
  • the air cleaner can first clean the first direction in which the air should be cleaned first.
  • the air can be cleaned in a second direction different from the direction.
  • FIG. 1 It is a perspective view which shows the air cleaner by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the air cleaner in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view in FIG. 1 which shows the operation state (a) and (b) of a movable louver and a baffle plate. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the air cleaner by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view in FIG. 1 which shows the operating state (a), (b), (c) of a person detection means. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the wind direction variable range by an air cleaner. It is a characteristic diagram which shows the directivity of the air cleaner by Embodiment 1 of this invention.
  • Embodiment 1 FIG.
  • common elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.
  • the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an air cleaner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the air cleaner in FIG.
  • the air cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment includes a casing 2, a pedestal 3, a suction port 4, a blower outlet 5, a blower 6, air paths 7 ⁇ / b> A and 7 ⁇ / b> B, a cleaning means 8, and a movable louver 9.
  • a louver drive unit 10 an aperture variable mechanism 11, an aperture drive unit 12, a rectification mechanism 13, a rectification drive unit 14, a horizontal rotation mechanism 15, an external detection unit 16, a contamination detection unit 21, a control unit 23, and the like.
  • the casing 2 is formed of, for example, a vertically long tower-type case that is formed in a substantially rectangular square tube shape and extends in a direction perpendicular to the floor surface. Moreover, the casing 2 is supported in the state which can be rotated in the horizontal direction by the base 3 installed in the floor surface of a room. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 8, the blower 6, and the air passage 7 are sequentially arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side in the space from the inlet 4 to the outlet 5 in the internal space of the casing 2. Yes.
  • positioned facing the indoor space among the side parts of the casing 2 is described as a front part, and the part facing a front part is described as a rear part.
  • a direction in which the front surface portion and the rear surface portion face each other is denoted as a front-rear direction, and a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction is denoted as a left-right direction.
  • the air cleaner 1 is installed on the floor surface at a position close to any wall of the room, for example, and is used with the rear surface portion of the casing 2 facing the wall surface and the front surface portion of the casing 2 facing the indoor space. Is done.
  • the suction port 4 is an opening for sucking indoor air into the casing 2, and is provided, for example, in the front portion of the casing 2.
  • the suction port 4 has a vertically long opening shape extending in the vertical direction.
  • the blower outlet 5 is an opening for blowing the air sucked into the casing 2 to the outside, and is constituted by, for example, two blower outlets 5 ⁇ / b> A and 5 ⁇ / b> B opened at the upper surface of the casing 2.
  • the two outlets 5 ⁇ / b> A and 5 ⁇ / b> B extend in parallel with each other along the left-right direction of the casing 2.
  • blowout air the air blown out from the blowout port 5 (blowout ports 5A and 5B) may be referred to as “blowout air”.
  • the suction inlet 4 may be arrange
  • the blower outlet 5 may be arrange
  • only one blower outlet may be arrange
  • the blower 6 sucks air into the casing 2 from the suction port 4 and blows out the air from the blowout port 5.
  • the blower 6 includes a fan 6A configured by a centrifugal fan such as a sirocco fan, and an electric motor 6B that rotates the fan 6A.
  • the rotational speed of the fan 6A is controlled by the control unit 23, and the air volume of the blown air is changed according to the rotational speed.
  • two blowers 6 are arranged in the casing 2 side by side in the vertical direction with their positions shifted in the front-rear direction.
  • an air passage 7 that connects the blower 6 and the outlet 5 is provided inside the casing 2.
  • the air path 7 guides the air blown from the blower 6 to the outlet 5.
  • the air passage 7 is divided into a front air passage 7A and a rear air passage 7B by a partition wall 2A provided inside the casing 2.
  • the two air passages 7A and 7B extend in parallel in the vertical direction and are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction.
  • the lower sides of the air passages 7A and 7B are connected to different blowers 6 respectively.
  • the upper sides of the air passages 7A and 7B are connected to the air outlets 5A and 5B, respectively.
  • the air cleaner 1 reaches the blower outlet 5B from the first blower 6 via the air passage 7A and reaches the blower outlet 5A, and the first blower 6 reaches the blower outlet 5B via the air passage 7B.
  • 2 ventilation systems In these ventilation systems, the air volume, the wind direction, and the wind speed can be controlled separately.
  • the cleaning means 8 cleans the air sucked from the suction port 4, and is provided between the suction port 4 and the blower 6, for example.
  • the cleaning means 8 has a vertically long outer shape extending in the vertical direction inside the casing 2.
  • cleaning means removing contaminants such as dust, smoke, pollen, viruses, molds, fungi, allergens, and odor molecules floating in the air.
  • the cleaning means 8 is constituted by a dust collection filter, a deodorizing filter, an anti-mold / sterilization filter, a voltage application device, or the like, or a combination thereof.
  • the dust collection filter collects dust and the like, and the deodorization filter adsorbs odor components.
  • the anti-fungal / sterilizing filter inactivates mold spores and kills attached bacteria.
  • the voltage application device exhibits at least one of functions such as removal, inactivation, death, destruction, and decomposition of contaminants by applying a high voltage to the electrodes.
  • the mechanism for capturing and removing contaminants inside the casing 2 is exemplified as the cleaning means 8.
  • the cleaning means of the present invention includes a mechanism that exhibits a cleaning effect outside the casing 2 by, for example, emitting ions, mist, and ultrasonic waves.
  • the installation place of the cleaning means is not limited to the inside of the casing 2. That is, as the cleaning means of the present invention, for example, a configuration in which ions and mist are discharged to the outside of the casing 2 and placed in an air current so as to fly to the target location can be used to clean the target location. .
  • the cleaning means of the present invention may be a means for purifying by coating the photocatalyst on the surface of the casing 2 and guiding the contaminated air at the target location to the vicinity of the casing 2. That is, it is important for the air cleaner described in the first embodiment to improve the cleaning speed at the targeted location. Therefore, the content of the cleaning means 8 is not limited to a specific means, as long as it can improve the purification speed of the target location by combining with the operation control method or the like. However, as the cleaning means, the means for sucking the contaminated air and treating it with a filter or the like can surely bring the contaminated air into contact with the cleaning means and is most efficient.
  • the adopting means 8 is adopted.
  • FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part in FIG. 1 showing operating states (a) and (b) of the movable louver and the rectifying mechanism.
  • the movable louver 9 swings the air direction of the blown air in the vertical direction, and one movable louver 9 is provided at each of the outlets 5A and 5B.
  • the movable louver 9 is formed by, for example, an elongated flat plate that extends in the left-right direction of the casing 2.
  • the base end side of the movable louver 9 is attached to the air outlets 5A and 5B via individual louver driving units 10, respectively.
  • the louver drive unit 10 swings the two movable louvers 9 individually in the vertical direction.
  • the opening variable mechanism 11 is provided, for example, at a position facing the front movable louver 9 in the front-rear direction, and changes the opening area of the outlet 5 ⁇ / b> A in cooperation with the movable louver 9. is there.
  • the opening variable mechanism 11 is not shown in order to clearly show a rectifying mechanism 13 described later.
  • the rectifying mechanism 13 adjusts the wind direction in the left-right direction while maintaining the elevation angle of the wind direction set by the movable louver 9. As shown in FIGS.
  • the rectifying mechanism 13 is formed of, for example, a substantially triangular (fan-shaped) fin, protrudes from the wind receiving surface side of each movable louver 9, and includes a plurality of rectifying mechanisms 13 at intervals in the left-right direction. Has been placed. Each rectifying mechanism 13 swings in the left-right direction as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, and changes the direction of the blown air in the left-right direction according to the swing angle.
  • the rectifying mechanism 13 is swung by, for example, a rectifying drive unit 14 (see FIG. 4) provided in the movable louver 9.
  • the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 is provided between the casing 2 and the pedestal 3 and rotates the direction of the casing 2 and the air outlet 5 in the horizontal direction on the pedestal 3.
  • the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 constitutes a wind direction adjusting mechanism together with the rectification mechanism 13 and the rectification drive unit 14, and changes the wind direction of the blown air in the left-right direction within a preset wind direction variable range.
  • the wind direction variable range will be described with reference to FIG.
  • the two blowers 6 are arranged in the vertical direction.
  • the cross-sectional shape of the air cleaner 1 can be shape
  • the square and circular cross-sectional shapes can reduce the installation area required when rotating in the horizontal direction, and are optimal for using the horizontal rotation mechanism 15.
  • the control which changes a ventilation direction according to the position of a person or dirt is performed as mentioned later.
  • any method may be used as long as the blowing direction can be changed.
  • the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 it is visually confirmed that the air purifier 1 is facing the direction of people and dirt. It becomes easy. Therefore, the effect that the user can actually feel the effect of the air cleaner 1 can be obtained.
  • a desk is one of the largest pieces of furniture placed in the center of a room, but desks are designed with consideration for the sitting height of people and are generally designed to be about 90 cm high. is there. That is, when the position in the height direction of the outlet 5 of the air purifier 1 is low, there is a high possibility that even if the air is blown in an oblique direction, the airflow is blocked by furniture and the like, and the target airflow cannot be formed in the room. Become. Considering the possibility that the airflow is blocked by the furniture, the angle of blowout from the blowout port 5 in an obliquely upward direction is naturally limited.
  • the vertically long tower type has an advantage that a distance between the lowest point of the blowout port 5 and the suction port 4 can be widened.
  • the air cleaner 1 according to the first embodiment has the purpose of eliminating the temperature difference between the floor surface and the ceiling and suppressing the stirring of dirt.
  • the airflow of the air inlet 4 is obstructed by the effect of the air blown from the air outlet 5 and is normally sucked into the air inlet 4
  • the external detection unit 16 can be installed at a higher position. That is, it is possible to detect a person without being affected by lower furniture such as a chair or a television, and it is possible to suppress erroneous detection.
  • FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a control system of the air cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
  • the air cleaner 1 includes a sensor system including the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection unit 21, an operation unit 22 for operating the air cleaner 1, and a control unit 23 for controlling the operating state of the air cleaner 1. I have.
  • the external detection unit 16 detects information on the room in which the air purifier 1 is installed, and is provided, for example, on the upper front side of the casing 2 as shown in FIGS.
  • the external detection unit 16 includes a person detection unit 17 that detects a person in the room.
  • the person detection means 17 is comprised by the infrared sensor, the image recognition sensor, the pyroelectric sensor etc., for example.
  • the person detecting means 17 may be constituted by another sensor capable of detecting a person.
  • you may comprise the external detection part 16 by combining the human detection means 17 and another sensor (not shown).
  • the other sensor is configured by at least one sensor among a dust sensor, an odor sensor, a moving body sensor, a distance sensor, an illuminance sensor, and the like. Moreover, not only a person but animals etc. may be detected, and pets, such as a cat and a dog, may be detected.
  • the dust sensor is composed of a semiconductor element, an optical element, etc., and detects the concentration of dust, smoke, pollen, etc. in the air.
  • the odor sensor is composed of a semiconductor element or a piezoelectric element, and detects the concentration of several gas components that emit odor.
  • the distance sensor is composed of, for example, a non-contact sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, or an image recognition sensor, and detects the distance between the air cleaner 1 and the detection target object using sound waves or electromagnetic waves. Objects to be detected include indoor walls, ceilings, furniture, people, animals, and the like.
  • the illuminance sensor detects the presence, movement, etc. of a person and an animal in the room based on a change in illuminance.
  • FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the main part in FIG. 1 showing the operating states (a), (b), and (c) of the human detection means 17.
  • the direction of the human detection means 17 is rotated in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) with respect to the casing 2 by the sensor rotation mechanism 20.
  • the sensor rotation mechanism 20 may be configured to rotate other sensors included in the external detection unit 16 together. For example, when an image recognition sensor capable of acquiring two-dimensional image data, an array type sensor, or the like is used as the human detection unit 17, the sensor rotation mechanism 20 may not be used.
  • the contamination detection means 21 shown in FIG. 4 detects the amount of contaminants in the air sucked from the suction port 4 as a contamination level, and is arranged upstream of the cleaning means 8 in the air flow direction. ing.
  • the contamination detection means 21 is constituted by, for example, a dust sensor, a gas sensor, an odor sensor or the like.
  • the air purifier 1 detects the contamination level in a specific direction by blowing out air in a specific direction and detecting the amount of contaminants in the air returning from this direction by the contamination detection means 21.
  • the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection unit 21 constitute a specific example of an information acquisition unit that acquires information about a person in the room and information about the level of air contamination as room information.
  • the contamination detection means 21 can grasp the position of the cooking place, the position of the door, etc. and the operation of the person, for example, the occurrence timing of dirt and the place where the contamination easily occurs.
  • a sensor integration mechanism or the like that estimates At this time, detection information of the human detection means 17 may be combined to improve accuracy.
  • the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection means 21 are not necessarily incorporated in the air cleaner 1.
  • other air-conditioning equipment When other air-conditioning equipment has these detection functions, it may be configured to operate by obtaining detection information from the air-conditioning equipment.
  • information transmission means such as infrared rays, light, sound waves, electromagnetic waves, and radio waves may be mounted as an alternative means for these detection devices.
  • These information transmission means are advantageous in that the installation space is reduced and it is easy to have a cooperation function with other home appliances.
  • the information of the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection means 21 can be sent to other home appliances, and the versatility of the air cleaner 1 can be enhanced.
  • the control unit 23 includes an arithmetic processing unit, an input / output port, a storage circuit, and the like (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, a sensor system including the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection unit 21 is connected to the input side of the control unit 23. On the output side of the control unit 23, an actuator including the blower 6, the cleaning means 8, the louver driving unit 10, the opening driving unit 12, the rectification driving unit 14, the horizontal rotation mechanism 15, the sensor rotation mechanism 20, and the like is connected. . The control unit 23 operates the air cleaner 1 by controlling the actuator based on the output of the sensor system.
  • the angle (elevation angle) of the blown air in the vertical direction is controlled according to the swing angle of the movable louver 9. Further, the wind direction angle (rotation angle) in the horizontal direction is controlled by the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 and the rectifying mechanism 13. Further, when the swing angle of the movable louver 9 and the opening variable mechanism 11 is changed, the flow passage area of the blown air changes, whereby the wind speed of the blown air is controlled. Furthermore, the control part 23 changes the rotation speed of the air blower 6, and controls the air volume of blowing air. In this way, the air purified by the air cleaner is blown out from the outlets 5A and 5B toward each part in the room. The blown air circulates in the room and is then sucked into the suction port 4 together with the contaminants in the air. By repeating this circulation operation, indoor air is purified.
  • Wind direction control Next, the blowing air direction control executed by the control unit 23 will be described.
  • a first direction that is a direction in which air should be cleaned first is selected within a preset wind direction variable range. Then, the air cleaning operation is executed for a specified time t to be described later in a state where the wind direction is directed to the first direction. Then, the 2nd direction which is the direction which should clean air after the 1st direction is selected. Then, the air direction is changed to the second direction, and the air cleaning operation is executed in the second direction.
  • the wind direction variable range is defined as the rotation angle of the wind direction that can be realized by the horizontal rotation mechanism 15.
  • FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a variable range of wind direction by the air cleaner.
  • the wind direction variable range is divided into five areas A1 to A5, and the selection of the first and second directions and the acquisition of the room information are executed in units of areas.
  • the wind direction variable range is divided into a plurality of areas A1 to A5
  • loss can be reduced by selecting an area according to this range.
  • D1 to D5 in FIG. 6 illustrate the wind directions respectively associated with the areas A1 to A5. That is, when the area A1 is selected, the wind direction D1 is selected, and air is blown out from the outlet 5 toward the wind direction D1. In addition, when the area A2 is selected, the wind direction D2 is selected, and air is blown out toward the wind direction D2. Similarly, when the areas A3 to A5 are selected, it means that the wind directions D3 to D5 are selected, respectively.
  • D2 to D5 do not necessarily blow out air toward the center of the area like D1. This is due to the fact that the central portion in the blowing direction is not necessarily the fastest in the purification rate, and may slightly shift to the right or left depending on the blowing direction. Further, the range in which air can be cleaned at a higher speed than the surroundings may be different. In other words, the target area and the wind direction do not necessarily coincide with each other, and the movement of the wind direction in the left-right direction may mean that the area is changed.
  • L shown in FIG. 6 represents the center in the left-right direction of the wind direction variable range.
  • the areas A2 and A4 located on the left side of the center L in the wind direction variable range are denoted as the left area AL
  • the areas A3 and A5 located on the right side of the center L are denoted as the right area AR.
  • Each of the areas A1 to A5 has the same central angle with the air cleaner 1 as the center.
  • the wind direction variable range may be divided into an arbitrary number of areas as necessary.
  • the air pollution level is individually detected by rotating the casing 2 by the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 while performing the air cleaning operation. Further, the external detection unit 16 detects the presence / absence of a person existing in each of the areas A1 to A5, the number of persons, and the distance from the air cleaner 1 to the person for each area. At this time, the direction of the external detection unit 16 may be rotated by the sensor rotation mechanism 20. The control unit 23 selects the first and second directions based on the room information.
  • the area with the largest number of people or the area with the highest air pollution level is selected from the areas A1 to A5.
  • the area is selected as the first direction. That is, for example, when a person exists only in the area A4, the first direction is set to the area A4 (wind direction D4).
  • the area with the largest number of people is selected as the first direction.
  • the area with the highest air pollution level is selected as the first direction. That is, for example, when there is no person in any of the areas A1 to A5 and the contamination level of the area A5 is the highest, the first direction is set to the area A5 (wind direction D5).
  • the first direction an area where people are present (an area with the largest number of people) may be always selected.
  • a 1st direction it is good also as a structure which always selects the area with the highest contamination level.
  • the air cleaner 1 can preferentially clean the area with the most people or the area with the highest air pollution level. Thereby, at the time of starting of the air cleaner 1, for example, the air cleaning effect can be exhibited to the maximum.
  • the air after performing the air cleaning operation in the first direction, the air can be cleaned in a second direction different from the first direction. Thereby, the indoor air can be efficiently cleaned as a whole, and the occurrence of dirty air stagnation can be suppressed.
  • the area in which the person is present can be preferentially cleaned, and the user's comfort can be ensured promptly.
  • the specified time t for performing the air cleaning operation in the first direction is set based on, for example, practical conditions, actual measurement results, room information, and the like. As a specific example, the time t is set based on the time when the air cleaning is predicted to be completed or the time when it is determined that no effect can be obtained even if the air cleaning operation is continued further. May be. Further, the time t may be set variably based on, for example, the presence or absence of a person present in the first direction, the number of persons, the air contamination level in the first direction, and the like.
  • the time t has elapsed at this point. It may be determined that the operation has been performed, and the next operation may be performed. In this case, as the next operation, for example, the air flow is temporarily reduced, the air flow is temporarily stopped, and the like in the second direction.
  • the time t for cleaning the air in the first direction can be appropriately set without excess or deficiency according to the indoor conditions. That is, for example, when the dirt in the first direction is cleaned, the wind direction can be quickly switched to the second direction. Thereby, the whole room can be cleaned with good balance. Moreover, when the stain
  • the second direction is preferably selected, for example, in an area opposite to the first direction in the left-right direction. That is, when the first direction is selected in one of the left area AL and the right area AR, the second direction is selected in the other area. Furthermore, it is preferable to select an area farthest from the first direction as the second direction. As a specific example, when the first direction is area A2, one of areas A3 and A5 (preferably area A5) is selected as the second direction. For example, when the first direction is area A3, one of areas A2 and A4 (preferably area A4) is selected as the second direction. Similarly, when the first direction is one of the areas A4 and A, the other area is selected as the second direction.
  • the first and second directions can be distributed in a balanced manner between the left side and the right side of the wind direction variable range.
  • the stagnation of dirty air can be effectively eliminated.
  • the second direction as a direction away from the first direction as much as possible in the left-right direction, the above effect can be exhibited remarkably.
  • the wind direction control for example, when there are people in a plurality of areas and the area having the largest number of people is selected as the first direction, the area having the second largest number of people is selected in the second direction.
  • You may choose as According to this control it is possible to sequentially clean air from an area where there are many people and it is considered that the demand for cleaning is high. Thereby, the person in the room can feel the air purification effectively, and the air cleaner 1 can be operated efficiently. Further, by blowing air toward an area where a person is present, an air flow from the area where the person is present toward another area can be generated. As a result, even when the contamination level in the other area is high, it is possible to prevent the contaminant from reaching the person from the other area.
  • the allowable limit is set in advance as a reference value of a contamination level at which air is to be cleaned. According to this control, it is possible to sequentially clean air from an area with a high contamination level. Thereby, it can suppress that a pollutant spread
  • the second direction is based on the past number of occurrences of pollution. May be selected.
  • the control unit 23 stores, for each area, the number of times that contamination exceeding the allowable limit has occurred in the past. Then, the direction with the largest number of past contamination occurrences is selected as the second direction.
  • the number of times of air blown to a specific area in the past may be stored for each area, and the direction with the largest number of past air blows may be selected as the second direction.
  • control part 23 comprises an example of the memory
  • At least one of the first and second directions may be selected by the following process.
  • the areas may be selected based on a preset priority order.
  • an area having a larger number of past contamination occurrences or ventilations may have a higher priority.
  • An area where the number of occurrences of contamination or the number of air blows is large is assumed to be a place where people can easily gather, a place to eat, and the like, for example, near a television. Since such a place is likely to increase the number of people while the air is being blown, it is possible to further improve the comfort of the user by preferentially cleaning.
  • the air cleaner 1 may have a function of detecting the arrangement of furniture by the external detection unit 16, for example.
  • an area with a lot of furniture is selected from the areas A1 to A5 as the first direction (or the second direction).
  • an area with a lot of furniture there may be an error in detection results such as the number of people and the level of air pollution. By positively cleaning such an area, it is possible to cope with detection errors.
  • the area located in the middle in the left-right direction among the areas may be selected as the first direction (or the second direction).
  • the first direction or the second direction.
  • the area A2 that is the central portion is set in the first direction regardless of the distance to the people.
  • the areas A1 and A4 on both sides can also be indirectly cleaned. Therefore, when there are people in a plurality of areas, the entire area can be cleaned on average and promptly.
  • FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram for explaining the directivity of the air cleaner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
  • the front means, for example, a direction perpendicular to the center of the front surface of the casing of the air cleaner, and the deviation angle means the central angle of deviation relative to the front.
  • the dotted line in FIG. 7 represents the average value which averaged the whole air purification performance from the front of a casing to the both sides of right and left.
  • the air cleaner has an average air cleaning performance across the front and left and right sides of the casing.
  • the air cleaner 1 of the present embodiment is configured so that the air cleaning performance is higher in front than the left and right sides of the casing 2 and has high directivity with respect to the air blowing direction. Yes. Thereby, when it turns to the specific direction of the air cleaner 1, air can be efficiently cleaned in the direction.
  • the characteristic line having the highest air purification performance at the front position is illustrated.
  • this characteristic line may slightly shift to the left or right depending on the direction and the air blowing direction. .
  • the tendency of the above characteristic line that is, the tendency to decrease toward the both ends is the same, having a graph shape that is convex upward. The same trend may not be true in the vicinity of indoor walls and obstacles.
  • this characteristic can be controlled by the vertical and horizontal angles of the movable louver 9. Specifically, for example, in the vertical direction, if the movable louver 9 is controlled so that the wind speed is increased by tilting the wind direction angle forward, the convex shape of the graph in FIG. 7 becomes closer to a straight line.
  • the interior tends to be easily purified uniformly. Further, according to the wind direction control in the left-right direction, it is possible to adjust the degree of deviation of the convex portion of the graph from the front to the left. In other words, if you want to have a bias in the area to be cleaned out of areas A1 to A5, or if you want to support two adjacent areas as much as possible, fine adjustment by moving the movable louver 9 up and down, left and right Is possible. These fine adjustment functions may be incorporated into the control.
  • the air cleaner 1 since the air cleaner 1 is provided with the two air blowers 6, and can control each air blower 6 separately, it can suppress the fall of an air volume, making the convex shape of the said graph close to a straight line. it can. In order to bring the convex shape of the graph closer to a straight line, it is more efficient to individually set the vertical angle of the movable louver 9, but in this case, the areas of the outlet 5A and the outlet 5B are different. Therefore, the pressure loss fluctuates. However, if the blower 6 is individually installed and the air volume can be controlled for each outlet 5, the air volume balance can be maintained. Conversely, it is also possible to intentionally change the air volume balance and change the manner in which the airflow circulates in the room.
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a main routine of wind direction control according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
  • the routine shown in this figure is repeatedly executed during operation of the air purifier 1.
  • step S101 when the operation is started in step S100, first, in step S101, the orientation of the casing 2 is returned to the initial position (center L) in the left-right direction.
  • step S102 the person detection means 17 is rotated in the left-right direction within the wind direction variable range, thereby searching for a person in the room and detecting the presence / absence of the person and the number of persons for each of the areas A1 to A5.
  • step S103 based on the detection result of the person detecting means 17, it is determined whether or not there is a person in any area. If this determination is not established, the process proceeds to step S104, and a process (see FIG. 9 described later) when there is no person is executed. On the other hand, if the determination in step S103 is established, the process proceeds to step S105.
  • step S105 an area with the largest number of people within the wind direction variable range is selected as the first direction, and the wind direction is directed in the first direction.
  • step S106 the air is blown in the first direction for the predetermined time t described above, and an air cleaning operation is executed.
  • step S107 an area away from the area selected as the first direction is selected as the second direction.
  • the second direction is an area located on the opposite side of the direction selected in step S106 with respect to the center L of the wind direction variable range.
  • step S108 for example, air is blown for a specified time t in a state where the wind direction is in the second direction, and the air cleaning operation is executed.
  • step S109 it is determined whether or not there remains an area that is about the same distance from the area selected as the first direction and that is not performing the air cleaning operation.
  • This determination process assumes that the center area A1 (see FIG. 6) is selected as the first direction. More specifically, for example, the areas A4 and A5 located at the left and right ends of the wind direction variable range have the same distance from the area A1. For this reason, if the air cleaning operation has not yet been executed in any of the areas A4 and A5, the determination in step S109 is established. In this case, the process proceeds to step S110, and an area where the air cleaning operation is not executed is selected as the second direction among the areas A4 and A5.
  • step S111 air is blown for a specified time t in the selected area, and an air cleaning operation is executed.
  • the air cleaning operation is not executed in both areas A4 and A5, the areas A4 and A5 are sequentially selected as the second direction, and the air cleaning operation is executed in each area.
  • the priority order of the areas A4 and A5 as described above, for example, the area with the larger one of the distance to the person in the area, the contamination level, the number of occurrences of contamination, or the number of times of blowing is given priority. Good. Moreover, you may give priority to an area with much arrangement
  • step S109 If the determination in step S109 is not established, and if the processes in steps S110 and S111 are completed in all remaining areas, the process returns to step S101. Thereby, as long as the operation of the air purifier 1 is not stopped, the processes of steps S101 to S111 are repeatedly executed.
  • steps S109 to S111 may be executed only when an odd number of areas are provided in the wind direction variable range. That is, when an even number of areas are provided in the wind direction variable range, the processing of steps S109 to S111 may be omitted. That is, in this embodiment, the area dividing method is not particularly important. In the present embodiment, “the air purifying effect is difficult to obtain because it is away from the first blown area (first direction) and the area where the air purifying operation is not performed is selected as the second direction. It is important to.
  • the second direction may be configured to sequentially select a plurality of directions by combining the various selection methods described above.
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for wind direction control according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
  • the orientation of the casing 2 is returned to the initial position in the left-right direction.
  • step S201 the casing 2 is rotated in the left-right direction within the air direction variable range to search indoor dirt, and the air pollution level is detected for each of the areas A1 to A5.
  • step S202 it is determined whether there is a dirty area. More specifically, in this determination process, it is determined whether or not the contamination level of each area exceeds an allowable limit. If the determination in step S202 is not established, the process proceeds to step S203, for example, air is blown toward the center of the room, and the entire room is evenly cleaned. On the other hand, if the determination in step S202 is established, the process proceeds to step S204.
  • step S204 an area having the highest contamination level within the wind direction variable range is selected as the first direction, and the wind direction is directed to the first direction.
  • step S205 air is blown for a specified time t in the first direction, and an air cleaning operation is performed.
  • step S206 an area away from the area selected as the first direction is selected as the second direction.
  • step S207 in the state where the wind direction is directed to the second direction, for example, air is blown for a specified time t, and the air cleaning operation is executed. Steps S206 and S207 are the same as steps S107 and S108 in FIG. In steps S208 to S210, processing similar to that in steps S109 to S111 is executed.
  • FIG. 9 is exemplified as a subroutine.
  • wind direction control may be performed using FIG. 9 as a main routine. That is, the first and second directions may be selected from the beginning based on the contamination level of each area.
  • humans can detect immediately even if they are away from the air purifier 1, whereas the contamination level is detected based on the inhaled air. For this reason, since it takes time to detect the contamination level, the air direction control using the detection of the contamination level as the main routine may reduce the responsiveness of the air cleaning operation. Therefore, as exemplified in FIGS. 8 and 9, it is preferable to adopt wind direction control in which detection of a person is a main routine and detection of a contamination level is a subroutine.
  • the responsiveness to the contamination level can be temporarily increased. Therefore, if a function such as switching the main routine and the subroutine according to the situation is possessed, the effect can be further exhibited.
  • cooking operations, opening and closing of doors, etc. are factors that cause dirt that can be estimated to some extent by human detection and learning functions. Therefore, when these operations are estimated, it is determined that dirt is generated from the direction of the kitchen or the door, and if the configuration is such that the wind direction is forcibly changed by performing an interrupt process, the spread of dirt is prevented. It can be suppressed and is more effective.
  • the air in the entire room may be stirred while swinging the wind direction in the left-right direction to be cleaned while eliminating the stagnation.
  • count of operation the frequency
  • the air cleaner 1 can be decreased.
  • the wind direction swing suppresses the feeling of wind against the person, the air volume can be greatly increased.
  • air can be blown from the central part to the left and right sides with reference to the central part of the room where people are likely to live.
  • the external detection unit 16 detects the size of the room, the position of the wall, and the like, and determines whether the areas A4 and A5 are valid areas based on the detection result. Good.
  • an effective area may be determined based on, for example, the position and movement of a person.
  • an area where a person is not detected over a period such as day and night may be determined as an invalid area where walls, obstacles, and the like exist, and may be excluded from the target of wind direction control.
  • FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing another specific example of the wind direction control according to the first embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, in FIG. 10, first, in step S105, an area having the largest number of people is selected as the first direction. In step S300, the area having the second largest number of people is selected as the second direction. On the other hand, in FIG. 11, first, in step S204, an area having the highest contamination level is selected as the first direction. In step S400, the area with the second highest contamination level is selected as the second direction.
  • the control shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 may be combined with the control shown in FIGS. Further, the control shown in FIG. 11 may be used as a main routine.
  • steps S105 and S204 in the routines shown in FIGS. 8 to 11 show specific examples of the first direction selection means.
  • Steps S107, S110, S206, S209, S300, and S400 show specific examples of the second direction selecting means, and steps S106, S108, S111, S205, S207, S210, S301, and S401 are the cleaning control means. A specific example is shown.
  • the air cleaner 1 used in a general home has been described as an example.
  • the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to various types of equipment having an air purifying function equivalent to that of the air purifier 1.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Air Conditioning Control Device (AREA)
  • Disinfection, Sterilisation Or Deodorisation Of Air (AREA)
  • Ventilation (AREA)

Abstract

The purpose of the invention is to purify indoor air efficiently and totally and to inhibit the occurrence of locations of stagnant contaminated air. The air purifier (1) comprises a casing (2), an inlet (4), an outlet (5), an air channel (7A, 7B), a blower (6), a movable louver (9), a horizontal rotating mechanism (15), an external detector (16), a contaminant detection means (21), a controller (23), and the like. The controller (23) selects a first direction within the areas (A1-A5) of a wind-direction variable range on the basis of at least one of the following sets of room information: information pertaining to people and animals in the room; and information pertaining to the source of the contamination in the air and the contamination level. In addition, air purification operation is executed for a stipulated time t while the wind direction is directed toward the first direction by the horizontal rotating mechanism (15). Next, a second direction different from the first direction is selected, and the air purification operation is executed in a state where the wind direction is changed to the second direction.

Description

空気清浄機及び空気清浄機能を有する設備機器Air purifier and equipment having air purifying function
　本発明は、吸込んだ空気を清浄化して吹出す機能を備えた空気清浄機及び空気清浄機能を有する設備機器に関する。 The present invention relates to an air purifier having a function of purifying sucked air and blowing it out, and an equipment having an air purifying function.
　従来技術として、例えば特許文献１に記載されているような空気清浄機が知られている。従来技術では、室内に存在する人の位置を検出し、例えば空気清浄機から吹出す空気が人に当たらないように、吹出し空気の風向を制御する。また、人が空気清浄機から離れた場所にいる場合には、吹出し空気の風量を増加させる。
　尚、出願人は、本発明に関連するものとして、上記の文献を含めて、以下に記載する文献を認識している。 As a prior art, for example, an air cleaner as described in Patent Document 1 is known. In the prior art, the position of a person existing in the room is detected, and for example, the air direction of the blown air is controlled so that the air blown from the air cleaner does not hit the person. Further, when a person is away from the air cleaner, the air volume of the blown air is increased.
The applicant has recognized the following documents including the above-mentioned documents as related to the present invention.
日本実開平５－９３５６２号公報Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-93562 日本特開平１１－８３０９８号公報Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-83098 日本特開平２－２４５２１２号公報Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-245212
　上述した従来技術では、吹出し空気が人に当たらないように風向を制御したり、吹出し空気が空気清浄機から離れた場所に届くように風量を増加させる。しかしながら、人の方向に空気を吹出さないと、人が存在するエリアの清浄化が遅くなるという問題がある。一方、人が存在する方向に向けて空気を吹出すと、人が存在しないエリアの清浄化が遅くなるので、室内全体の汚染レベルが低下し辛くなる。特に、一定のエリアのみに向けて送風を続けると、他のエリアで空気（汚れ）の淀みが生じるという問題がある。 In the above-described conventional technology, the air direction is controlled so that the blown air does not hit a person, or the air volume is increased so that the blown air reaches a place away from the air cleaner. However, if air is not blown in the direction of the person, there is a problem that the cleaning of the area where the person exists becomes slow. On the other hand, when air is blown out in the direction in which people are present, cleaning of areas where no people are present is slowed down, so that the contamination level of the entire room is difficult to decrease. In particular, if the air blowing is continued only in a certain area, there is a problem that stagnation of air (dirt) occurs in other areas.
　本発明は、上述の課題を解決するためになされたもので、ユーザに与える不快感を抑制しつつ、室内の空気を全体的に効率よく清浄化することができ、かつ、汚れた空気の淀み個所が生じるのを抑制することが可能な空気清浄機及び空気清浄機能を有する設備機器を提供することを目的としている。 The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to clean the indoor air as a whole efficiently while suppressing discomfort given to the user, and the stagnation of dirty air. It aims at providing the equipment which has an air cleaner which can suppress that a part arises, and an air purifying function.
　この発明に係る空気清浄機は、空気の吸込口及び吹出口を有するケーシングと、室内の空気を吸込口から吸込んで当該空気を吹出口に送風する送風機と、吸込口から吸込まれた空気を清浄化する清浄化手段と、吹出口から吹出す空気の風向を予め設定された風向可変範囲内で左右方向に変更可能な風向調整機構と、室内の人や動物に関する情報と、空気の汚染源や汚染レベルに関する情報のうち、少なくとも一方の情報を室内情報として取得する情報取得手段と、室内情報に基いて風向調整機構を制御する制御部と、を備え、制御部は、風向可変範囲内で最初に空気を清浄化すべき方向である第１の方向を室内情報に基いて選択する第１の方向選択手段と、風向可変範囲内で第１の方向の次に空気を清浄化すべき方向である第２の方向を選択する第２の方向選択手段と、風向を第１の方向に向けた状態で規定の時間だけ空気清浄動作を実行した後に、風向を第２の方向に変更して空気清浄動作を実行する清浄制御手段と、を備えている。 An air purifier according to the present invention cleans a casing having an air inlet and an outlet, a blower that sucks indoor air from the inlet and blows the air to the outlet, and air sucked from the inlet Cleansing means, wind direction adjustment mechanism that can change the air direction of the air blown from the air outlet in the left and right direction within a preset wind direction variable range, information on indoor people and animals, sources of air pollution and pollution An information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the information relating to the level as room information, and a control unit for controlling the wind direction adjusting mechanism based on the room information. A first direction selecting means for selecting a first direction, which is a direction in which air is to be cleaned, based on room information; and a second direction, in which the air is to be cleaned next to the first direction within the variable air direction range. Select the direction Second direction selecting means for performing the cleaning and cleaning control for executing the air cleaning operation by changing the wind direction to the second direction after executing the air cleaning operation for a specified time in a state where the wind direction is directed to the first direction Means.
　この発明によれば、空気清浄機は、まず、最初に空気を清浄化すべき第１の方向を優先して清浄化することができる。また、第１の方向で空気清浄動作を実行した後には、当該方向と異なる第２の方向で空気を清浄化することができる。これにより、高い空気清浄効果が要求される方向を優先的に清浄化しつつ、室内の空気を全体的に効率よく清浄化し、汚れた空気の淀み個所が生じるのを抑制することができる。 According to the present invention, the air cleaner can first clean the first direction in which the air should be cleaned first. In addition, after performing the air cleaning operation in the first direction, the air can be cleaned in a second direction different from the direction. Thus, while preferentially cleaning the direction in which a high air cleaning effect is required, the indoor air can be efficiently cleaned as a whole, and the occurrence of stagnation of dirty air can be suppressed.
本発明の実施の形態１による空気清浄機を示す斜視図である。It is a perspective view which shows the air cleaner by Embodiment 1 of this invention. 図１中の空気清浄機を示す縦断面図である。It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the air cleaner in FIG. 可動ルーバー及び整流板の作動状態（ａ），（ｂ）を示す図１中の要部拡大図である。It is a principal part enlarged view in FIG. 1 which shows the operation state (a) and (b) of a movable louver and a baffle plate. 本発明の実施の形態１による空気清浄機の制御系統を示す構成図である。It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the air cleaner by Embodiment 1 of this invention. 人検出手段の作動状態（ａ），（ｂ），（ｃ）を示す図１中の要部拡大図である。It is a principal part enlarged view in FIG. 1 which shows the operating state (a), (b), (c) of a person detection means. 空気清浄機による風向可変範囲の一例を示す説明図である。It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the wind direction variable range by an air cleaner. 本発明の実施の形態１による空気清浄機の指向性を示す特性線図である。It is a characteristic diagram which shows the directivity of the air cleaner by Embodiment 1 of this invention. 本発明の実施の形態１による風向制御のメインルーチンを示すフローチャートである。It is a flowchart which shows the main routine of the wind direction control by Embodiment 1 of this invention. 本発明の実施の形態１による風向制御のサブルーチンを示すフローチャートである。It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the wind direction control by Embodiment 1 of this invention. 本発明の実施の形態１による風向制御の他の具体例を示すフローチャートである。It is a flowchart which shows the other specific example of the wind direction control by Embodiment 1 of this invention. 本発明の実施の形態１による風向制御の他の具体例を示すフローチャートである。It is a flowchart which shows the other specific example of the wind direction control by Embodiment 1 of this invention.
実施の形態１．
　以下、図面を参照して、本発明の実施の形態１について説明する。なお、本明細書で使用する各図においては、共通する要素に同一の符号を付し、重複する説明を省略するものとする。また、本発明は、以下の実施の形態に限定されるものではなく、本発明の主旨を逸脱しない範囲で種々に変形することが可能である。 Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing used in this specification, common elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.
　図１は、本発明の実施の形態１による空気清浄機を示す斜視図である。また、図２は、図１中の空気清浄機を示す縦断面図である。これらの図に示すように、本実施の形態の空気清浄機１は、ケーシング２、台座３、吸込口４、吹出口５、送風機６、風路７Ａ，７Ｂ、清浄化手段８、可動ルーバー９、ルーバー駆動部１０、開口可変機構１１、開口駆動部１２、整流機構１３、整流駆動部１４、水平回転機構１５、外部検出部１６、汚染検出手段２１、制御部２３等を備えている。 FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an air cleaner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the air cleaner in FIG. As shown in these drawings, the air cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment includes a casing 2, a pedestal 3, a suction port 4, a blower outlet 5, a blower 6, air paths 7 </ b> A and 7 </ b> B, a cleaning means 8, and a movable louver 9. , A louver drive unit 10, an aperture variable mechanism 11, an aperture drive unit 12, a rectification mechanism 13, a rectification drive unit 14, a horizontal rotation mechanism 15, an external detection unit 16, a contamination detection unit 21, a control unit 23, and the like.
　ケーシング２は、例えば略四角形の角筒状に形成され、床面と垂直な方向に延びる縦長のタワー型ケースにより構成されている。また、ケーシング２は、部屋の床面に設置される台座３により水平方向に回転可能な状態で支持されている。ケーシング２の内部空間のうち、吸込口４から吹出口５に至る空間には、図２に示すように、清浄化手段８、送風機６及び風路７が上流から下流に向けて順に配置されている。 The casing 2 is formed of, for example, a vertically long tower-type case that is formed in a substantially rectangular square tube shape and extends in a direction perpendicular to the floor surface. Moreover, the casing 2 is supported in the state which can be rotated in the horizontal direction by the base 3 installed in the floor surface of a room. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 8, the blower 6, and the air passage 7 are sequentially arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side in the space from the inlet 4 to the outlet 5 in the internal space of the casing 2. Yes.
　なお、本明細書では、ケーシング２の側面部のうち、主として室内の空間に面して配置される部分を前面部と表記し、前面部と対向する部分を後面部と表記する。また、水平方向において、前面部と後面部とが対向する方向を前後方向と表記し、前後方向と直交する方向を左右方向と表記する。空気清浄機１は、例えば部屋の何れかの壁に近い位置で床面上に設置され、ケーシング２の後面部を当該壁面に向けると共にケーシング２の前面部を室内の空間に向けた状態で使用される。 In addition, in this specification, the part arrange | positioned facing the indoor space among the side parts of the casing 2 is described as a front part, and the part facing a front part is described as a rear part. Further, in the horizontal direction, a direction in which the front surface portion and the rear surface portion face each other is denoted as a front-rear direction, and a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction is denoted as a left-right direction. The air cleaner 1 is installed on the floor surface at a position close to any wall of the room, for example, and is used with the rear surface portion of the casing 2 facing the wall surface and the front surface portion of the casing 2 facing the indoor space. Is done.
　吸込口４は、室内の空気をケーシング２の内部に吸込むための開口部であり、例えばケーシング２の正面部に設けられている。吸込口４は、垂直方向に延びた縦長の開口形状を有している。吹出口５は、ケーシング２の内部に吸込んだ空気を外部に吹出すための開口部であり、例えばケーシング２の上面部に開口した２個の吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂにより構成されている。２個の吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂは、ケーシング２の左右方向に沿って互いに並行に延びている。なお、以下の説明では、吹出口５（吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂ）から吹出す空気を「吹出し空気」と表記する場合がある。また、本発明では、吸込口４を、ケーシング２の背面部、側面部、下面部等に配置してもよいし、吹出口５を、ケーシング２の正面部、側面部等に配置してもよい。さらに、ケーシング２には、１個のみの吹出口を配置したり、３個以上の吹出口を配置してもよい。 The suction port 4 is an opening for sucking indoor air into the casing 2, and is provided, for example, in the front portion of the casing 2. The suction port 4 has a vertically long opening shape extending in the vertical direction. The blower outlet 5 is an opening for blowing the air sucked into the casing 2 to the outside, and is constituted by, for example, two blower outlets 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B opened at the upper surface of the casing 2. The two outlets 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B extend in parallel with each other along the left-right direction of the casing 2. In the following description, the air blown out from the blowout port 5 ( blowout ports 5A and 5B) may be referred to as “blowout air”. Moreover, in this invention, the suction inlet 4 may be arrange | positioned in the back surface part, side part, lower surface part, etc. of the casing 2, and the blower outlet 5 may be arrange | positioned in the front part, side part, etc. of the casing 2. Good. Furthermore, only one blower outlet may be arrange | positioned in the casing 2, and three or more blower outlets may be arrange | positioned.
　送風機６は、吸込口４からケーシング２の内部に空気を吸込んで当該空気を吹出口５から吹出すものである。送風機６は、シロッコファン等の遠心ファンにより構成されたファン６Ａと、ファン６Ａを回転させる電動式のモータ６Ｂとを備えている。ファン６Ａの回転数は、制御部２３により制御されるもので、当該回転数に応じて吹出し空気の風量が変更される。ケーシング２の内部には、図２に示すように、例えば２個の送風機６が前後方向に位置をずらした状態で、鉛直方向に並べて配置されている。 The blower 6 sucks air into the casing 2 from the suction port 4 and blows out the air from the blowout port 5. The blower 6 includes a fan 6A configured by a centrifugal fan such as a sirocco fan, and an electric motor 6B that rotates the fan 6A. The rotational speed of the fan 6A is controlled by the control unit 23, and the air volume of the blown air is changed according to the rotational speed. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, two blowers 6 are arranged in the casing 2 side by side in the vertical direction with their positions shifted in the front-rear direction.
　ケーシング２の内部には、送風機６と吹出口５とを接続する風路７が設けられている。風路７は、送風機６から送風された空気を吹出口５に案内するものである。風路７は、ケーシング２の内部に設けられた隔壁２Ａにより、前側の風路７Ａと後側の風路７Ｂとに分割されている。２つの風路７Ａ，７Ｂは、鉛直方向に並列に伸長し、前後方向に並べて配置されている。風路７Ａ，７Ｂの下部側は、それぞれ異なる送風機６に接続されている。風路７Ａ，７Ｂの上部側は、それぞれ吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂに接続されている。即ち、空気清浄機１は、一方の送風機６から風路７Ａを介して吹出口５Ａに到達する第１の送風系統と、他方の送風機６から風路７Ｂを介して吹出口５Ｂに到達する第２の送風系統とを備えている。これらの送風系統では、風量、風向及び風速を別々に制御することができる。 Inside the casing 2, an air passage 7 that connects the blower 6 and the outlet 5 is provided. The air path 7 guides the air blown from the blower 6 to the outlet 5. The air passage 7 is divided into a front air passage 7A and a rear air passage 7B by a partition wall 2A provided inside the casing 2. The two air passages 7A and 7B extend in parallel in the vertical direction and are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. The lower sides of the air passages 7A and 7B are connected to different blowers 6 respectively. The upper sides of the air passages 7A and 7B are connected to the air outlets 5A and 5B, respectively. That is, the air cleaner 1 reaches the blower outlet 5B from the first blower 6 via the air passage 7A and reaches the blower outlet 5A, and the first blower 6 reaches the blower outlet 5B via the air passage 7B. 2 ventilation systems. In these ventilation systems, the air volume, the wind direction, and the wind speed can be controlled separately.
　清浄化手段８は、吸込口４から吸込まれた空気を清浄化するもので、例えば吸込口４と送風機６との間に設けられている。清浄化手段８は、ケーシング２の内部で垂直方向に延びた縦長の外形状を有している。ここで、「清浄化」とは、例えば空気中に浮遊する塵埃、煙、花粉、ウイルス、カビ、菌、アレルゲン、臭気分子等からなる汚染物質を除去することを意味するもので、具体的には、前記汚染物質を捕集したり、不活性化したり、吸着及び分解する動作を意味している。清浄化手段８は、集塵フィルタ、脱臭フィルタ、抗カビ・殺菌フィルタ、電圧印加デバイス等により構成されるか、またはこれらの組み合わせにより構成されている。集塵フィルタは、塵埃等を捕集するもので、脱臭フィルタは、臭気成分を吸着するものである。抗カビ・殺菌フィルタはカビの胞子を不活化したり、付着菌を死滅したりするものである。また、電圧印加デバイスは、電極に高電圧を印加することで汚染物質を除去、不活化、死滅、破壊、分解等の少なくとも何れかの機能を発現するものである。 The cleaning means 8 cleans the air sucked from the suction port 4, and is provided between the suction port 4 and the blower 6, for example. The cleaning means 8 has a vertically long outer shape extending in the vertical direction inside the casing 2. Here, “cleaning” means removing contaminants such as dust, smoke, pollen, viruses, molds, fungi, allergens, and odor molecules floating in the air. Means an operation of collecting, inactivating, adsorbing and decomposing the contaminants. The cleaning means 8 is constituted by a dust collection filter, a deodorizing filter, an anti-mold / sterilization filter, a voltage application device, or the like, or a combination thereof. The dust collection filter collects dust and the like, and the deodorization filter adsorbs odor components. The anti-fungal / sterilizing filter inactivates mold spores and kills attached bacteria. In addition, the voltage application device exhibits at least one of functions such as removal, inactivation, death, destruction, and decomposition of contaminants by applying a high voltage to the electrodes.
　なお、本実施の形態１では、汚染物質をケーシング２の内部で捕捉して除去する機構を清浄化手段８として例示した。しかし、本発明の清浄化手段には、例えばイオンやミスト、超音波を放出することにより、ケーシング２の外部にて清浄化の効果を発現する機構も含まれる。また、本発明において、清浄化手段の設置場所は、ケーシング２の内部に限定されるものではない。即ち、本発明の清浄化手段としては、例えばイオンやミストをケーシング２の外部に放出し、狙った箇所に飛ぶように気流に乗せることで、当該狙った箇所を清浄化する構成が可能である。また、本発明の清浄化手段は、光触媒をケーシング２の表面に塗装し、狙った箇所の汚染空気をケーシング２近傍に導くことで浄化する手段でもよい。つまり、本実施の形態１に記載の空気清浄機は、狙った箇所の清浄化速度を向上することが重要である。従って、清浄化手段８の内容は、動作制御手法等と組合わせることで狙った箇所の浄化速度を向上できればよいものであり、特定の手段に限定されるものではない。但し、清浄化手段としては、汚染空気を吸引してフィルタ等より処理する手段が、確実に汚染空気と清浄化手段を接触させられる上に、最も効率が良いため、本実施の形態では、清浄化手段８を採用している。 In the first embodiment, the mechanism for capturing and removing contaminants inside the casing 2 is exemplified as the cleaning means 8. However, the cleaning means of the present invention includes a mechanism that exhibits a cleaning effect outside the casing 2 by, for example, emitting ions, mist, and ultrasonic waves. In the present invention, the installation place of the cleaning means is not limited to the inside of the casing 2. That is, as the cleaning means of the present invention, for example, a configuration in which ions and mist are discharged to the outside of the casing 2 and placed in an air current so as to fly to the target location can be used to clean the target location. . Further, the cleaning means of the present invention may be a means for purifying by coating the photocatalyst on the surface of the casing 2 and guiding the contaminated air at the target location to the vicinity of the casing 2. That is, it is important for the air cleaner described in the first embodiment to improve the cleaning speed at the targeted location. Therefore, the content of the cleaning means 8 is not limited to a specific means, as long as it can improve the purification speed of the target location by combining with the operation control method or the like. However, as the cleaning means, the means for sucking the contaminated air and treating it with a filter or the like can surely bring the contaminated air into contact with the cleaning means and is most efficient. The adopting means 8 is adopted.
　次に、図３は、可動ルーバー及び整流機構の作動状態（ａ），（ｂ）を示す図１中の要部拡大図である。可動ルーバー９は、図２及び図３に示すように、吹出し空気の風向を上下方向に揺動させるもので、吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂに１個ずつ設けられている。可動ルーバー９は、例えばケーシング２の左右方向に延在する細長い平板等により形成されている。可動ルーバー９の基端側は、それぞれ個別のルーバー駆動部１０を介して吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂに取付けられている。ルーバー駆動部１０は、２つの可動ルーバー９を個別に上下方向に揺動させるものである。 Next, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part in FIG. 1 showing operating states (a) and (b) of the movable louver and the rectifying mechanism. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the movable louver 9 swings the air direction of the blown air in the vertical direction, and one movable louver 9 is provided at each of the outlets 5A and 5B. The movable louver 9 is formed by, for example, an elongated flat plate that extends in the left-right direction of the casing 2. The base end side of the movable louver 9 is attached to the air outlets 5A and 5B via individual louver driving units 10, respectively. The louver drive unit 10 swings the two movable louvers 9 individually in the vertical direction.
　開口可変機構１１は、図２に示すように、例えば前側の可動ルーバー９と前後方向で対向する位置に設けられ、当該可動ルーバー９と協働して吹出口５Ａの開口面積を変更するものである。なお、図１及び図３では、後述の整流機構１３を明示するために、開口可変機構１１の図示を省略している。整流機構１３は、可動ルーバー９により設定された風向の仰角を保持した状態で、当該風向を左右方向に調整するものである。整流機構１３は、図２及び図３に示すように、例えば略三角形状（扇形状）のフィンにより形成され、各可動ルーバー９の受風面側から突出すると共に、左右方向に間隔をもって複数個配置されている。そして、個々の整流機構１３は、図３（ａ），（ｂ）に示すように、左右方向に揺動し、当該揺動角に応じて吹出し空気の風向を左右方向に変化させる。 As shown in FIG. 2, the opening variable mechanism 11 is provided, for example, at a position facing the front movable louver 9 in the front-rear direction, and changes the opening area of the outlet 5 </ b> A in cooperation with the movable louver 9. is there. In FIGS. 1 and 3, the opening variable mechanism 11 is not shown in order to clearly show a rectifying mechanism 13 described later. The rectifying mechanism 13 adjusts the wind direction in the left-right direction while maintaining the elevation angle of the wind direction set by the movable louver 9. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rectifying mechanism 13 is formed of, for example, a substantially triangular (fan-shaped) fin, protrudes from the wind receiving surface side of each movable louver 9, and includes a plurality of rectifying mechanisms 13 at intervals in the left-right direction. Has been placed. Each rectifying mechanism 13 swings in the left-right direction as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, and changes the direction of the blown air in the left-right direction according to the swing angle.
　また、整流機構１３は、例えば可動ルーバー９に設けられた整流駆動部１４（図４参照）により揺動される。水平回転機構１５は、図１及び図２に示すように、ケーシング２と台座３との間に設けられ、ケーシング２及び吹出口５の向きを台座３上で水平方向に回転させるものである。水平回転機構１５は、整流機構１３及び整流駆動部１４と共に風向調整機構を構成し、吹出し空気の風向を予め設定された風向可変範囲内で左右方向に変更するものである。風向可変範囲については、後述の図６を参照して説明する。 The rectifying mechanism 13 is swung by, for example, a rectifying drive unit 14 (see FIG. 4) provided in the movable louver 9. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 is provided between the casing 2 and the pedestal 3 and rotates the direction of the casing 2 and the air outlet 5 in the horizontal direction on the pedestal 3. The horizontal rotation mechanism 15 constitutes a wind direction adjusting mechanism together with the rectification mechanism 13 and the rectification drive unit 14, and changes the wind direction of the blown air in the left-right direction within a preset wind direction variable range. The wind direction variable range will be described with reference to FIG.
　なお、本実施の形態１では、前述のように、２つの送風機６を上下方向に並べる構成としている。この構成によれば、単一の送風機６により同じ風量を発生させる空気清浄機と比較して、空気清浄機１を縦長のタワー型に形成し易くなる。これにより、空気清浄機１の横断面形状を正方形または円形に成形し、その設置面積を小型化することができる。特に、正方形及び円形の横断面形状は、水平方向に回転動作するときに必要な設置面積を小型化することができ、水平回転機構１５を用いる上で最適な形状となっている。また、本実施の形態１に係る空気清浄機１においては、後述の通り、人や汚れの位置に応じて送風方向を変更する制御を実行する。この場合、本発明では、送風方向が変更できればどのような方法を用いても良いが、水平回転機構１５を用いることにより、空気清浄機１が人や汚れの方向を向いていることを視認し易くなる。従って、ユーザが空気清浄機１の効果を実感できるという効果を得ることができる。 In the first embodiment, as described above, the two blowers 6 are arranged in the vertical direction. According to this structure, compared with the air cleaner which generates the same air volume with the single air blower 6, it becomes easy to form the air cleaner 1 in a vertically long tower shape. Thereby, the cross-sectional shape of the air cleaner 1 can be shape | molded in square or circular, and the installation area can be reduced in size. Particularly, the square and circular cross-sectional shapes can reduce the installation area required when rotating in the horizontal direction, and are optimal for using the horizontal rotation mechanism 15. Moreover, in the air cleaner 1 which concerns on this Embodiment 1, the control which changes a ventilation direction according to the position of a person or dirt is performed as mentioned later. In this case, in the present invention, any method may be used as long as the blowing direction can be changed. However, by using the horizontal rotation mechanism 15, it is visually confirmed that the air purifier 1 is facing the direction of people and dirt. It becomes easy. Therefore, the effect that the user can actually feel the effect of the air cleaner 1 can be obtained.
　さらに、本実施の形態１では、空気清浄機１を縦長のタワー型に形成した上で、吹出口５を天面に形成することにより、斜め上方への気流を形成し易くなるという利点がある。具体例を挙げると、室内中央に置かれる家具の中でも大きい物として机が挙げられるが、机は、人の座高を考えた設計がなされ、90cm程度の高さに設計されるのが一般的である。つまり、空気清浄機１の吹出口５の高さ方向の位置が低い場合には、斜め方向に送風しても、気流が家具等に遮られ、室内に狙いの気流を形成できない可能性が高くなる。家具に気流を遮られる可能性を考慮すると、吹出口５からの斜め上方方向への吹出し角度はおのずと制限されることになる。 Furthermore, in this Embodiment 1, after forming the air cleaner 1 in a vertically long tower shape and forming the blower outlet 5 on the top surface, there is an advantage that it becomes easy to form an airflow obliquely upward. . As a specific example, a desk is one of the largest pieces of furniture placed in the center of a room, but desks are designed with consideration for the sitting height of people and are generally designed to be about 90 cm high. is there. That is, when the position in the height direction of the outlet 5 of the air purifier 1 is low, there is a high possibility that even if the air is blown in an oblique direction, the airflow is blocked by furniture and the like, and the target airflow cannot be formed in the room. Become. Considering the possibility that the airflow is blocked by the furniture, the angle of blowout from the blowout port 5 in an obliquely upward direction is naturally limited.
　また、縦長のタワー型は、吹出口５と吸込口４の最下点の距離を広く取ることを可能にするという利点も有する。本実施の形態１の空気清浄機１は、床面と天井の温度差を解消すると共に、汚れの撹拌を抑えるという目的も有している。吹出口５と吸込口４の最下点の間隔が狭い場合には、吹出口５からの吹出風の誘引効果により吸込口４の気流が阻害され、本来なら吸込口４に吸引される筈であった汚染空気が吹出風に引張られ、汚染空気を再度撒き散らす可能性がある。また、高さ寸法を大きくすることが可能なタワー型の構造を採用することで、外部検出部１６をより高い位置に設置することが可能となる。即ち、椅子やテレビ等の低めの家具等に影響されずに、人を検知することが可能となり、誤検知を抑制することができる。 Also, the vertically long tower type has an advantage that a distance between the lowest point of the blowout port 5 and the suction port 4 can be widened. The air cleaner 1 according to the first embodiment has the purpose of eliminating the temperature difference between the floor surface and the ceiling and suppressing the stirring of dirt. When the distance between the lowest point of the air outlet 5 and the air inlet 4 is narrow, the airflow of the air inlet 4 is obstructed by the effect of the air blown from the air outlet 5 and is normally sucked into the air inlet 4 There is a possibility that the contaminated air will be pulled by the blowing wind and scattered again. In addition, by adopting a tower type structure that can increase the height dimension, the external detection unit 16 can be installed at a higher position. That is, it is possible to detect a person without being affected by lower furniture such as a chair or a television, and it is possible to suppress erroneous detection.
　次に、図４を参照して、空気清浄機１の制御系統について説明する。図４は、本発明の実施の形態１による空気清浄機の制御系統を示す構成図である。空気清浄機１は、外部検出部１６及び汚染検出手段２１を含むセンサ系統と、空気清浄機１を操作するための操作部２２と、空気清浄機１の運転状態を制御する制御部２３とを備えている。 Next, the control system of the air cleaner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a control system of the air cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The air cleaner 1 includes a sensor system including the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection unit 21, an operation unit 22 for operating the air cleaner 1, and a control unit 23 for controlling the operating state of the air cleaner 1. I have.
　外部検出部１６は、空気清浄機１が設置された部屋の情報を検出するもので、図１及び図３に示すように、例えばケーシング２の正面上部側に設けられている。外部検出部１６は、室内の人を検出する人検出手段１７を備えている。人検出手段１７は、例えば赤外線センサ、画像認識センサ、焦電センサ等により構成されている。なお、本発明では、人の検出が可能な他のセンサにより人検出手段１７を構成してもよい。また、外部検出部１６は、人検出手段１７と他のセンサ（図示せず）とを組合わせることにより構成してもよい。他のセンサは、例えば埃センサ、臭気センサ、動体センサ、距離センサ、照度センサ等のうち少なくとも１個のセンサにより構成される。また、人に限らず、動物等でもよく、猫や犬等のペットを検知してもよい。 The external detection unit 16 detects information on the room in which the air purifier 1 is installed, and is provided, for example, on the upper front side of the casing 2 as shown in FIGS. The external detection unit 16 includes a person detection unit 17 that detects a person in the room. The person detection means 17 is comprised by the infrared sensor, the image recognition sensor, the pyroelectric sensor etc., for example. In the present invention, the person detecting means 17 may be constituted by another sensor capable of detecting a person. Moreover, you may comprise the external detection part 16 by combining the human detection means 17 and another sensor (not shown). The other sensor is configured by at least one sensor among a dust sensor, an odor sensor, a moving body sensor, a distance sensor, an illuminance sensor, and the like. Moreover, not only a person but animals etc. may be detected, and pets, such as a cat and a dog, may be detected.
　ここで、埃センサは、半導体素子、光学素子等により構成され、空気中の塵埃、煙、花粉等の濃度を検出する。臭気センサは、半導体素子や圧電素子により構成され、臭気を発する幾つかのガス成分の濃度を検出する。距離センサは、例えば超音波センサ、光センサ、画像認識センサ等の非接触式センサにより構成され、音波または電磁波を利用して、空気清浄機１と検出対象物との距離を検出する。検出対象物には、室内における壁、天井、家具、人、動物等が含まれる。照度センサは、照度の変化に基いて、室内における人及び動物の有無、動き等を検出する。 Here, the dust sensor is composed of a semiconductor element, an optical element, etc., and detects the concentration of dust, smoke, pollen, etc. in the air. The odor sensor is composed of a semiconductor element or a piezoelectric element, and detects the concentration of several gas components that emit odor. The distance sensor is composed of, for example, a non-contact sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, or an image recognition sensor, and detects the distance between the air cleaner 1 and the detection target object using sound waves or electromagnetic waves. Objects to be detected include indoor walls, ceilings, furniture, people, animals, and the like. The illuminance sensor detects the presence, movement, etc. of a person and an animal in the room based on a change in illuminance.
　また、人検出手段１７は、センサ回転機構２０を介してケーシング２に取付けられている。図５は、人検出手段１７の作動状態（ａ），（ｂ），（ｃ）を示す図１中の要部拡大図である。この図に示すように、人検出手段１７の向きは、センサ回転機構２０によりケーシング２に対して水平方向（左右方向）回転される。なお、センサ回転機構２０は、外部検出部１６が備える他のセンサも一緒に回転させる構成としてもよい。また、人検出手段１７として、例えば２次元の画像データを取得可能な画像認識センサ、アレイ型のセンサ等を用いる場合には、センサ回転機構２０を採用しなくてもよい。 Further, the person detection means 17 is attached to the casing 2 via the sensor rotation mechanism 20. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the main part in FIG. 1 showing the operating states (a), (b), and (c) of the human detection means 17. As shown in this figure, the direction of the human detection means 17 is rotated in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) with respect to the casing 2 by the sensor rotation mechanism 20. The sensor rotation mechanism 20 may be configured to rotate other sensors included in the external detection unit 16 together. For example, when an image recognition sensor capable of acquiring two-dimensional image data, an array type sensor, or the like is used as the human detection unit 17, the sensor rotation mechanism 20 may not be used.
　一方、図４中に示す汚染検出手段２１は、吸込口４から吸込んだ空気中の汚染物質の量を汚染レベルとして検出するもので、空気の流れ方向において清浄化手段８の上流側に配置されている。汚染検出手段２１は、例えば埃センサ、ガスセンサ、臭気センサ等により構成されている。空気清浄機１は、特定の方向に空気を吹出し、この方向から還流してくる空気中の汚染物質の量を汚染検出手段２１により検出することで、特定の方向の汚染レベルを検出する。なお、外部検出部１６及び汚染検出手段２１は、室内の人に関する情報と、空気の汚染レベルに関する情報とを室内情報として取得する情報取得手段の具体例を構成している。また、ここでは汚染レベルの検出を目的としているが、汚染検出手段２１には、例えば、調理場の位置やドアの位置等と人の動作を把握して、汚れの発生タイミングや発生し易い場所を推定するようなセンサ集積機構等も含まれる。この際に、人検出手段１７の検知情報等も組合わせ、精度を向上させるようにしてもよい。 On the other hand, the contamination detection means 21 shown in FIG. 4 detects the amount of contaminants in the air sucked from the suction port 4 as a contamination level, and is arranged upstream of the cleaning means 8 in the air flow direction. ing. The contamination detection means 21 is constituted by, for example, a dust sensor, a gas sensor, an odor sensor or the like. The air purifier 1 detects the contamination level in a specific direction by blowing out air in a specific direction and detecting the amount of contaminants in the air returning from this direction by the contamination detection means 21. The external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection unit 21 constitute a specific example of an information acquisition unit that acquires information about a person in the room and information about the level of air contamination as room information. Although the purpose is to detect the contamination level here, the contamination detection means 21 can grasp the position of the cooking place, the position of the door, etc. and the operation of the person, for example, the occurrence timing of dirt and the place where the contamination easily occurs. A sensor integration mechanism or the like that estimates At this time, detection information of the human detection means 17 may be combined to improve accuracy.
　なお、本発明において、外部検出部１６や汚染検出手段２１は、必ずしも空気清浄機１に組込まれている必要はない。他の空調機器等がこれらの検出機能を有している場合には、当該空調機器等から検出情報を取得して動作する形態でもよい。この場合、赤外線や光、音波、電磁波、電波等の情報伝達手段をこれらの検出装置の代替え手段として搭載するとよい。これらの情報伝達手段は、設置スペースが縮小化されると共に、他の家電製品等との連携機能も保有させやすくなるという利点がある。また、逆に外部検出部１６や汚染検出手段２１の情報を他の家電製品に送ることもでき、空気清浄機１の汎用性を高めることができる。 In the present invention, the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection means 21 are not necessarily incorporated in the air cleaner 1. When other air-conditioning equipment has these detection functions, it may be configured to operate by obtaining detection information from the air-conditioning equipment. In this case, information transmission means such as infrared rays, light, sound waves, electromagnetic waves, and radio waves may be mounted as an alternative means for these detection devices. These information transmission means are advantageous in that the installation space is reduced and it is easy to have a cooperation function with other home appliances. Conversely, the information of the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection means 21 can be sent to other home appliances, and the versatility of the air cleaner 1 can be enhanced.
　制御部２３は、図示しない演算処理装置、入出力ポート及び記憶回路等を備えている。制御部２３の入力側には、図４に示すように、外部検出部１６及び汚染検出手段２１を含むセンサ系統が接続されている。制御部２３の出力側には、送風機６、清浄化手段８、ルーバー駆動部１０、開口駆動部１２、整流駆動部１４、水平回転機構１５、センサ回転機構２０等を含むアクチュエータが接続されている。制御部２３は、センサ系統の出力に基いてアクチュエータを制御することにより、空気清浄機１を作動させる。 The control unit 23 includes an arithmetic processing unit, an input / output port, a storage circuit, and the like (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, a sensor system including the external detection unit 16 and the contamination detection unit 21 is connected to the input side of the control unit 23. On the output side of the control unit 23, an actuator including the blower 6, the cleaning means 8, the louver driving unit 10, the opening driving unit 12, the rectification driving unit 14, the horizontal rotation mechanism 15, the sensor rotation mechanism 20, and the like is connected. . The control unit 23 operates the air cleaner 1 by controlling the actuator based on the output of the sensor system.
（基本的な空気清浄動作）
　次に、空気清浄機の基本的な動作について説明する。空気清浄機の作動時には、制御部２３により送風機６及び清浄化手段８が駆動される。これにより、室内の空気が吸込口４からケーシング２の内部に吸込まれ、この空気は清浄化手段８により清浄化される。そして、清浄化された空気は、各送風機６及び風路７Ａ，７Ｂを経由して吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂに到達し、吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂから外部に送風される。このとき、制御部２３は、センサ系統の検出結果等に基いて、ルーバー駆動部１０、開口駆動部１２、整流駆動部１４及び水平回転機構１５を駆動する。 (Basic air cleaning operation)
Next, the basic operation of the air cleaner will be described. When the air cleaner is in operation, the blower 6 and the cleaning means 8 are driven by the control unit 23. Thereby, indoor air is sucked into the casing 2 from the suction port 4, and this air is cleaned by the cleaning means 8. And the purified air reaches | attains blower outlet 5A, 5B via each air blower 6 and wind path 7A, 7B, and is ventilated outside from blower outlet 5A, 5B. At this time, the control unit 23 drives the louver driving unit 10, the opening driving unit 12, the rectification driving unit 14, and the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 based on the detection result of the sensor system.
　これにより、鉛直方向における吹出し空気の風向の角度（仰角）は、可動ルーバー９の揺動角に応じて制御される。また、水平方向における風向の角度（回転角）は、水平回転機構１５及び整流機構１３により制御される。また、可動ルーバー９及び開口可変機構１１の揺動角を変更すると、吹出し空気の流路面積が変化するので、これによって吹出し空気の風速が制御される。さらに、制御部２３は、送風機６の回転数を変更し、吹出し空気の風量を制御する。このようにして、空気清浄機により清浄化された空気は、吹出口５Ａ，５Ｂから室内の各部に向けて吹出される。吹出された空気は、室内を循環した後に、空気中の汚染物質と共に吸込口４に吸込まれる。この循環動作が繰返されることにより、室内の空気が清浄化される。 Thereby, the angle (elevation angle) of the blown air in the vertical direction is controlled according to the swing angle of the movable louver 9. Further, the wind direction angle (rotation angle) in the horizontal direction is controlled by the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 and the rectifying mechanism 13. Further, when the swing angle of the movable louver 9 and the opening variable mechanism 11 is changed, the flow passage area of the blown air changes, whereby the wind speed of the blown air is controlled. Furthermore, the control part 23 changes the rotation speed of the air blower 6, and controls the air volume of blowing air. In this way, the air purified by the air cleaner is blown out from the outlets 5A and 5B toward each part in the room. The blown air circulates in the room and is then sucked into the suction port 4 together with the contaminants in the air. By repeating this circulation operation, indoor air is purified.
（風向制御）
　次に、制御部２３により実行される吹出し空気の風向制御について説明する。風向制御では、まず、予め設定された風向可変範囲内において、最初に空気を清浄化すべき方向である第１の方向を選択する。そして、風向を第１の方向に向けた状態で、後述する規定の時間ｔだけ空気清浄動作を実行する。続いて、第１の方向の次に空気を清浄化すべき方向である第２の方向を選択する。そして、風向を第２の方向に変更し、第２の方向において空気清浄動作を実行する。 (Wind direction control)
Next, the blowing air direction control executed by the control unit 23 will be described. In the wind direction control, first, a first direction that is a direction in which air should be cleaned first is selected within a preset wind direction variable range. Then, the air cleaning operation is executed for a specified time t to be described later in a state where the wind direction is directed to the first direction. Then, the 2nd direction which is the direction which should clean air after the 1st direction is selected. Then, the air direction is changed to the second direction, and the air cleaning operation is executed in the second direction.
　ここで、風向可変範囲は、水平回転機構１５により実現可能な風向の回転角として定義される。図６は、空気清浄機による風向可変範囲の一例を示す説明図である。この図に示すように、本実施の形態では、例えば風向可変範囲を５つのエリアＡ１～Ａ５に区分し、第１，第２の方向の選択及び前記室内情報の取得をエリア単位で実行する。このように、風向可変範囲を複数のエリアＡ１～Ａ５に区分することにより、風向の制御及び室内情報の取得を容易に行うことができる。また、後述のように、過去の汚染発生回数または送風回数を容易に管理することができる。さらに、より集中的に浄化が可能な範囲は実験的に求めることが可能であるため、これに合わせてエリアを選択することで、ロスを減らすことができる。 Here, the wind direction variable range is defined as the rotation angle of the wind direction that can be realized by the horizontal rotation mechanism 15. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a variable range of wind direction by the air cleaner. As shown in this figure, in this embodiment, for example, the wind direction variable range is divided into five areas A1 to A5, and the selection of the first and second directions and the acquisition of the room information are executed in units of areas. In this way, by dividing the wind direction variable range into a plurality of areas A1 to A5, it is possible to easily control the wind direction and acquire room information. Moreover, as will be described later, it is possible to easily manage the number of past occurrences of contamination or the number of air blows. Furthermore, since the range in which purification can be performed more intensively can be obtained experimentally, loss can be reduced by selecting an area according to this range.
　図６中のＤ１～Ｄ５は、エリアＡ１～Ａ５にそれぞれ対応付けられた風向を例示している。即ち、エリアＡ１を選択した場合には、風向Ｄ１が選択されたことになり、吹出口５から風向Ｄ１に向けて空気が吹出される。また、エリアＡ２を選択した場合には、風向Ｄ２を選択したことになり、風向Ｄ２に向けて空気が吹出される。エリアＡ３～Ａ５を選択した場合についても同様に、それぞれ風向Ｄ３～Ｄ５を選択したことを意味している。ここで、Ｄ２～Ｄ５は必ずしもＤ１のようにエリアの中央に向かって空気を吹出す訳ではない。これは、必ずしも送風方向の中央部が最も浄化速度が速いとは限らず、送風方向によって僅かに右や左にずれる場合があるということが要因である。また、周囲よりも高速で空気を清浄化可能な範囲も異なる場合がある。つまり、対象エリアと風向は必ずしも一致しなくてもよく、左右方向への風向移動がエリアの変更を意味していると考えてよい。 D1 to D5 in FIG. 6 illustrate the wind directions respectively associated with the areas A1 to A5. That is, when the area A1 is selected, the wind direction D1 is selected, and air is blown out from the outlet 5 toward the wind direction D1. In addition, when the area A2 is selected, the wind direction D2 is selected, and air is blown out toward the wind direction D2. Similarly, when the areas A3 to A5 are selected, it means that the wind directions D3 to D5 are selected, respectively. Here, D2 to D5 do not necessarily blow out air toward the center of the area like D1. This is due to the fact that the central portion in the blowing direction is not necessarily the fastest in the purification rate, and may slightly shift to the right or left depending on the blowing direction. Further, the range in which air can be cleaned at a higher speed than the surroundings may be different. In other words, the target area and the wind direction do not necessarily coincide with each other, and the movement of the wind direction in the left-right direction may mean that the area is changed.
　また、図６中に示すＬは、風向可変範囲の左右方向の中心を表している。以下の説明では、風向可変範囲のうち中心Ｌよりも左側に位置するエリアＡ２，Ａ４を左エリアＡＬと表記し、中心Ｌよりも右側に位置するエリアＡ３，Ａ５を右エリアＡＲと表記する場合がある。なお、各エリアＡ１～Ａ５は、空気清浄機１を中心として、互いに等しい中心角を有している。また、本実施の形態では、例えば５つのエリアＡ１～Ａ５を設ける場合を例示した。しかし、本発明において、風向可変範囲は、必要に応じて任意の個数のエリアに区分してよいものである。 In addition, L shown in FIG. 6 represents the center in the left-right direction of the wind direction variable range. In the following description, the areas A2 and A4 located on the left side of the center L in the wind direction variable range are denoted as the left area AL, and the areas A3 and A5 located on the right side of the center L are denoted as the right area AR. There is. Each of the areas A1 to A5 has the same central angle with the air cleaner 1 as the center. In the present embodiment, for example, a case where five areas A1 to A5 are provided is illustrated. However, in the present invention, the wind direction variable range may be divided into an arbitrary number of areas as necessary.
　風向制御では、まず、空気清浄動作を実行しつつ、水平回転機構１５によりケーシング２を回転させることで、各エリアＡ１～Ａ５の空気の汚染レベルを個別に検出する。また、外部検出部１６により各エリアＡ１～Ａ５に存在する人の有無、人の数、及び空気清浄機１から人までの距離をエリア毎に検出する。このとき、外部検出部１６の向きは、センサ回転機構２０により回転させる構成としてもよい。制御部２３は、これらの室内情報に基いて第１，第２の方向を選択する。 In the wind direction control, first, the air pollution level is individually detected by rotating the casing 2 by the horizontal rotation mechanism 15 while performing the air cleaning operation. Further, the external detection unit 16 detects the presence / absence of a person existing in each of the areas A1 to A5, the number of persons, and the distance from the air cleaner 1 to the person for each area. At this time, the direction of the external detection unit 16 may be rotated by the sensor rotation mechanism 20. The control unit 23 selects the first and second directions based on the room information.
（第１の方向）
　第１の方向としては、各エリアＡ１～Ａ５のうち、人の数が最も多いエリア、または、空気の汚染レベルが最も高いエリアが選択される。具体例を挙げると、風向可変範囲内に人が存在し、かつ、人が存在するエリアが１つだけの場合には、当該エリアが第１の方向として選択される。即ち、例えばエリアＡ４だけに人が存在する場合には、第１の方向がエリアＡ４（風向Ｄ４）に設定される。また、複数のエリアに人が存在する場合には、人数が最も多いエリアが第１の方向として選択される。 (First direction)
As the first direction, the area with the largest number of people or the area with the highest air pollution level is selected from the areas A1 to A5. As a specific example, when a person exists in the wind direction variable range and there is only one area where the person exists, the area is selected as the first direction. That is, for example, when a person exists only in the area A4, the first direction is set to the area A4 (wind direction D4). When there are people in a plurality of areas, the area with the largest number of people is selected as the first direction.
　一方、風向可変範囲内に人が存在しない場合には、空気の汚染レベルが最も高いエリアが第１の方向として選択される。即ち、例えばエリアＡ１～Ａ５の何れにも人が存在せず、かつ、エリアＡ５の汚染レベルが最も高い場合には、第１の方向がエリアＡ５（風向Ｄ５）に設定される。なお、本発明では、第１の方向として、人が存在するエリア（人数が最も多いエリア）を常に選択する構成としてもよい。また、第１の方向としては、汚染レベルが最も高いエリアを常に選択する構成としてもよい。 On the other hand, when there is no person in the wind direction variable range, the area with the highest air pollution level is selected as the first direction. That is, for example, when there is no person in any of the areas A1 to A5 and the contamination level of the area A5 is the highest, the first direction is set to the area A5 (wind direction D5). In the present invention, as the first direction, an area where people are present (an area with the largest number of people) may be always selected. Moreover, as a 1st direction, it is good also as a structure which always selects the area with the highest contamination level.
　上記制御によれば、空気清浄機１は、まず、人が最も多いエリアか、または、空気の汚染レベルが最も高いエリアを優先して清浄化することができる。これにより、例えば空気清浄機１の始動時には、空気清浄効果を最大限に発揮することができる。また、第１の方向で空気清浄動作を実行した後には、第１の方向と異なる第２の方向で空気を清浄化することができる。これにより、室内の空気を全体的に効率よく清浄化し、汚れた空気の淀み個所が生じるのを抑制することができる。 According to the above control, the air cleaner 1 can preferentially clean the area with the most people or the area with the highest air pollution level. Thereby, at the time of starting of the air cleaner 1, for example, the air cleaning effect can be exhibited to the maximum. In addition, after performing the air cleaning operation in the first direction, the air can be cleaned in a second direction different from the first direction. Thereby, the indoor air can be efficiently cleaned as a whole, and the occurrence of dirty air stagnation can be suppressed.
　また、上記制御によれば、室内に人がいる場合には、まず、人がいるエリアを優先的に清浄化し、ユーザの快適性を速やかに確保することができる。一方、人がいない場合には、汚染レベルが最も高いエリアを優先して清浄化し、室内の清浄化速度を高めることができる。このように、室内の状況に応じて優先的に清浄化するエリアを適切に選択することができ、室内及びユーザの環境を総合的に向上させることができる。 Further, according to the above control, when there is a person in the room, first, the area in which the person is present can be preferentially cleaned, and the user's comfort can be ensured promptly. On the other hand, when there is no person, it is possible to preferentially clean the area with the highest contamination level and increase the indoor cleaning speed. As described above, it is possible to appropriately select an area to be preferentially cleaned according to indoor conditions, and it is possible to improve the indoor and user environments comprehensively.
　第１の方向で空気清浄動作を行う規定の時間ｔは、例えば実用上の条件、実測結果、室内情報等に基いて設定される。具体例を挙げると、時間ｔは、空気の清浄化が完了すると予測される時間か、または、空気清浄動作をそれ以上継続しても効果が得られないと判断される時間に基いて設定してもよい。また、時間ｔは、例えば第１の方向に存在する人の有無、人数、第１の方向における空気の汚染レベル等に基いて可変に設定してもよい。更に言えば、第１の方向での空気清浄動作中において、第１の方向が無人となったり、当該方向の汚染レベルが清浄不要なレベルまで低下した場合には、この時点で時間ｔが経過したものと判定し、定められた次の動作に移行してもよい。この場合、次の動作としては、例えば第２の方向に向く、風量を一時的に低下させる、送風を一旦停止する等が挙げられる。 The specified time t for performing the air cleaning operation in the first direction is set based on, for example, practical conditions, actual measurement results, room information, and the like. As a specific example, the time t is set based on the time when the air cleaning is predicted to be completed or the time when it is determined that no effect can be obtained even if the air cleaning operation is continued further. May be. Further, the time t may be set variably based on, for example, the presence or absence of a person present in the first direction, the number of persons, the air contamination level in the first direction, and the like. Furthermore, during the air cleaning operation in the first direction, if the first direction becomes unattended or the contamination level in the direction decreases to a level that does not require cleaning, the time t has elapsed at this point. It may be determined that the operation has been performed, and the next operation may be performed. In this case, as the next operation, for example, the air flow is temporarily reduced, the air flow is temporarily stopped, and the like in the second direction.
　上記制御によれば、第１の方向で空気を清浄化する時間ｔを、室内の状況等に応じて過不足なく適切に設定することができる。即ち、例えば第１の方向の汚れが清浄化されたときには、風向を第２の方向に速やかに切換えることができる。これにより、室内全体をバランスよく清浄化することができる。また、第１の方向の汚れが清浄化されない場合には、例えば清浄化が完了するまで第１の方向で送風を継続することができる。これにより、汚れの拡散を抑制し続けることができる。 According to the above control, the time t for cleaning the air in the first direction can be appropriately set without excess or deficiency according to the indoor conditions. That is, for example, when the dirt in the first direction is cleaned, the wind direction can be quickly switched to the second direction. Thereby, the whole room can be cleaned with good balance. Moreover, when the stain | pollution | contamination of a 1st direction is not cleaned, ventilation can be continued in a 1st direction until cleaning is completed, for example. Thereby, it is possible to continue to suppress the diffusion of dirt.
（第２の方向）
　第２の方向は、例えば左右方向において第１の方向と逆側のエリア内で選択するのが好ましい。即ち、第１の方向が左エリアＡＬと右エリアＡＲのうち何れか一方のエリアで選択された場合には、第２の方向を他方のエリアで選択する。更に言えば、第２の方向は、第１の方向から最も離れたエリアを選択するのが好ましい。具体例を挙げると、第１の方向がエリアＡ２である場合には、第２の方向としてエリアＡ３，Ａ５の何れか一方（好ましくは、エリアＡ５）を選択する。また、例えば第１の方向がエリアＡ３である場合には、第２の方向としてエリアＡ２，Ａ４の何れか一方（好ましくは、エリアＡ４）を選択する。これと同様に、第１の方向がエリアＡ４，Ａのうち何れか一方のエリアである場合には、第２の方向として他方のエリアを選択する。 (Second direction)
The second direction is preferably selected, for example, in an area opposite to the first direction in the left-right direction. That is, when the first direction is selected in one of the left area AL and the right area AR, the second direction is selected in the other area. Furthermore, it is preferable to select an area farthest from the first direction as the second direction. As a specific example, when the first direction is area A2, one of areas A3 and A5 (preferably area A5) is selected as the second direction. For example, when the first direction is area A3, one of areas A2 and A4 (preferably area A4) is selected as the second direction. Similarly, when the first direction is one of the areas A4 and A, the other area is selected as the second direction.
　この制御によれば、第１，第２の方向を風向可変範囲の左側と右側とにバランスよく分散させることができる。これにより、汚れた空気の淀みを効果的に解消することができる。従って、室内全体における空気の清浄化効率を高め、全体の空気を速やかに清浄化することができる。特に、第２の方向を、第１の方向から出来るだけ左右方向に離れた方向として設定することにより、上記効果を顕著に発揮することができる。 According to this control, the first and second directions can be distributed in a balanced manner between the left side and the right side of the wind direction variable range. Thereby, the stagnation of dirty air can be effectively eliminated. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the efficiency of air purification in the entire room and to quickly clean the entire air. In particular, by setting the second direction as a direction away from the first direction as much as possible in the left-right direction, the above effect can be exhibited remarkably.
　また、風向制御では、例えば複数のエリアに人が存在し、かつ、第１の方向として人の数が最も多いエリアを選択した場合に、人の数が２番目に多いエリアを第２の方向として選択してもよい。この制御によれば、人が多いので清浄化の要求が高いと考えられるエリアから空気を順次清浄化することができる。これにより、室内の人に対して空気の清浄化を効果的に体感させることができ、空気清浄機１を効率よく作動させることができる。また、人がいるエリアに向けて送風することにより、人がいるエリアから他のエリアに向かう気流を生じさせることができる。この結果、他のエリアの汚染レベルが高い場合でも、他のエリアから人の周囲に汚染物質が到達するのを抑制することができる。 In the wind direction control, for example, when there are people in a plurality of areas and the area having the largest number of people is selected as the first direction, the area having the second largest number of people is selected in the second direction. You may choose as According to this control, it is possible to sequentially clean air from an area where there are many people and it is considered that the demand for cleaning is high. Thereby, the person in the room can feel the air purification effectively, and the air cleaner 1 can be operated efficiently. Further, by blowing air toward an area where a person is present, an air flow from the area where the person is present toward another area can be generated. As a result, even when the contamination level in the other area is high, it is possible to prevent the contaminant from reaching the person from the other area.
　また、風向制御では、例えば複数のエリアで空気の汚染レベルが許容限度を超えており、かつ、第１の方向として汚染レベルが最も高いエリアを選択した場合に、汚染レベルが２番目に高いエリアを第２の方向として選択してもよい。許容限度は、例えば空気を清浄化すべき汚染レベルの基準値として予め設定される。この制御によれば、汚染レベルが高いエリアから空気を順次清浄化することができる。これにより、汚染レベルが高いエリアから他のエリアに汚染物質が拡散するのを抑制することができる。従って、他のエリアも間接的に清浄化することになり、室内全体の空気を効率よく清浄化することができる。 In the wind direction control, for example, when the air pollution level exceeds the allowable limit in a plurality of areas and the area with the highest pollution level is selected as the first direction, the area with the second highest pollution level is selected. May be selected as the second direction. For example, the allowable limit is set in advance as a reference value of a contamination level at which air is to be cleaned. According to this control, it is possible to sequentially clean air from an area with a high contamination level. Thereby, it can suppress that a pollutant spread | diffuses from an area with a high contamination level to another area. Therefore, other areas are also indirectly cleaned, and the air in the entire room can be efficiently cleaned.
　また、複数の方向で空気の汚染レベルが許容限度を超えており、かつ、第１の方向として汚染レベルが最も高い方向を選択した場合には、過去の汚染発生回数に基いて第２の方向を選択してもよい。具体的に述べると、制御部２３は、過去において許容限度を超える汚染が発生した回数をエリア毎に記憶しておく。そして、過去の汚染発生回数が最も多い方向を第２の方向として選択する。なお、本発明では、過去において特定のエリアに送風した送風回数をエリア毎に記憶しておき、過去の送風回数が最も多い方向を第２の方向として選択してもよい。 Further, when the air pollution level exceeds a permissible limit in a plurality of directions and the direction with the highest contamination level is selected as the first direction, the second direction is based on the past number of occurrences of pollution. May be selected. Specifically, the control unit 23 stores, for each area, the number of times that contamination exceeding the allowable limit has occurred in the past. Then, the direction with the largest number of past contamination occurrences is selected as the second direction. In the present invention, the number of times of air blown to a specific area in the past may be stored for each area, and the direction with the largest number of past air blows may be selected as the second direction.
　上記制御によれば、過去の汚染発生回数または送風回数に基いて、汚れが発生し易いエリアを推測し、推測したエリアを第２の方向として選択することができる。これにより、過去の汚染発生状況に基いて第２の方向を適切に選択することができる。なお、汚れが発生し易いエリアとしては、例えばキッチンの周辺、換気扇の近く、人が出入りする扉、開け放たれた窓等が考えられる。また、制御部２３は、過去の汚染発生回数または送風回数をエリア毎に記憶する記憶手段の一例を構成している。 According to the above control, it is possible to estimate an area where contamination is likely to occur based on the past number of occurrences of contamination or the number of times of blowing, and select the estimated area as the second direction. Thereby, the second direction can be appropriately selected based on the past contamination occurrence state. In addition, as an area where dirt easily occurs, for example, the vicinity of a kitchen, a vicinity of a ventilation fan, a door for people to enter and exit, an open window, and the like can be considered. Moreover, the control part 23 comprises an example of the memory | storage means which memorize | stores the past contamination occurrence frequency or ventilation frequency for every area.
　さらに、第１，第２の方向のうち少なくとも一方の方向は、以下の処理により選択してもよい。まず、空気清浄機１から送風位置までの距離が大きい場合には、その分だけ空気を清浄化し難くなる。このため、エリア内の人の数に基いてエリア（方向）を選択する処理において、人の数が等しい２つのエリアのうち何れか一方を選択する場合には、空気清浄機１から人までの距離が大きい方のエリアを選択するのが好ましい。これにより、清浄化し難い位置にいる人の周囲から優先的に清浄化することができる。 Furthermore, at least one of the first and second directions may be selected by the following process. First, when the distance from the air cleaner 1 to the air blowing position is large, it becomes difficult to clean the air by that amount. For this reason, in the process of selecting an area (direction) based on the number of people in the area, when selecting one of the two areas having the same number of people, the air cleaner 1 to the person It is preferable to select an area having a larger distance. Thereby, it can clean preferentially from the circumference | surroundings of the person in the position which is hard to clean.
　また、２つのエリアにおいて、人の数及び空気清浄機１から人までの距離が等しい場合には、予め設定しておいた優先順位に基いてエリアを選択してもよい。この場合には、前述のように、例えば過去の汚染発生回数または送風回数が多いエリアほど、優先順位を高くする構成としてもよい。汚染発生回数または送風回数が多いエリアは、例えばテレビの近くのように人が集まり易い場所、食事をする場所等であることが想定される。このような場所は、送風しているうちに人の数が増加する可能性が高いので、優先的に清浄化しておくことにより、ユーザの快適性を更に向上させることができる。 In addition, in the two areas, when the number of people and the distance from the air cleaner 1 to the person are equal, the areas may be selected based on a preset priority order. In this case, as described above, for example, an area having a larger number of past contamination occurrences or ventilations may have a higher priority. An area where the number of occurrences of contamination or the number of air blows is large is assumed to be a place where people can easily gather, a place to eat, and the like, for example, near a television. Since such a place is likely to increase the number of people while the air is being blown, it is possible to further improve the comfort of the user by preferentially cleaning.
　また、空気清浄機１は、例えば外部検出部１６により家具の配置等を検出する機能を備えてもよい。そして、風向制御では、第１の方向（または、第２の方向）として、各エリアＡ１～Ａ５のうち家具が多いエリアを選択する。家具が多いエリアでは、人の人数、空気の汚染レベル等の検出結果に誤差が生じる可能性がある。このようなエリアの清浄化を積極的に行うことで、検出誤差に対応することができる。 The air cleaner 1 may have a function of detecting the arrangement of furniture by the external detection unit 16, for example. In the wind direction control, an area with a lot of furniture is selected from the areas A1 to A5 as the first direction (or the second direction). In an area with a lot of furniture, there may be an error in detection results such as the number of people and the level of air pollution. By positively cleaning such an area, it is possible to cope with detection errors.
　また、例えば互いに隣接する複数のエリアに人が存在する場合には、該各エリアのうち左右方向の中間部に位置するエリアを第１の方向（または、第２の方向）として選択してもよい。具体例を挙げると、図６において、エリアＡ１，Ａ２，Ａ４に人がいる場合には、人との距離に関係なく、中央部となるエリアＡ２を第１の方向に設定する。これにより、両側のエリアＡ１，Ａ４も間接的に清浄化することができる。従って、複数のエリアに人が存在する場合に、該各エリアの全体を平均的かつ速やかに清浄化することができる。 For example, when there are people in a plurality of areas adjacent to each other, the area located in the middle in the left-right direction among the areas may be selected as the first direction (or the second direction). Good. As a specific example, in FIG. 6, when there are people in areas A1, A2, and A4, the area A2 that is the central portion is set in the first direction regardless of the distance to the people. Thereby, the areas A1 and A4 on both sides can also be indirectly cleaned. Therefore, when there are people in a plurality of areas, the entire area can be cleaned on average and promptly.
　図７は、本発明の実施の形態１による空気清浄機の指向性を説明するための特性線図である。この図において、正面とは、例えば空気清浄機のケーシングの前面中央部に対して垂直な方向を意味し、ずれ角度とは、正面に対するずれの中心角を意味している。また、図７中の点線は、ケーシングの正面から左右両側にわたる全体の空気清浄化性能を平均した平均値を表している。一般に、空気清浄機は、ケーシングの正面及び左右両側の全体にわたって平均的な空気清浄化性能を有するのが好ましいとされる。これに対し、本実施の形態の空気清浄機１は、ケーシング２の左右両側よりも正面で空気清浄化性能が高くなるように構成され、空気の吹出し方向に対して高い指向性を有している。これにより、空気清浄機１の特定の方向に向けた場合には、当該方向において空気を効率よく清浄化することができる。 FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram for explaining the directivity of the air cleaner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In this figure, the front means, for example, a direction perpendicular to the center of the front surface of the casing of the air cleaner, and the deviation angle means the central angle of deviation relative to the front. Moreover, the dotted line in FIG. 7 represents the average value which averaged the whole air purification performance from the front of a casing to the both sides of right and left. In general, it is preferred that the air cleaner has an average air cleaning performance across the front and left and right sides of the casing. On the other hand, the air cleaner 1 of the present embodiment is configured so that the air cleaning performance is higher in front than the left and right sides of the casing 2 and has high directivity with respect to the air blowing direction. Yes. Thereby, when it turns to the specific direction of the air cleaner 1, air can be efficiently cleaned in the direction.
　なお、図７では、正面位置の空気清浄化性能が最も高い特性線を例示したが、この特性線は、前述するように、向きや送風方向によって、左方向または右方向に多少ずれることがある。この場合でも、上記特性線の傾向、即ち、上向きに凸となるグラフ形状を有し、かつ、両端方向に行くに従って低下する傾向は同様である。また、室内の壁や障害物近傍では同傾向に当てはまらない場合がある。但し、この特性は、可動ルーバー９の上下角度、左右角度によって制御することができる。具体的に述べると、例えば上下方向については、可動ルーバー９、即ち、風向角度を前方向に倒して風速が高くなるように制御すれば、図７中のグラフの凸形状がより直線に近くなり、室内が均一に浄化され易くなる傾向がある。また、左右方向の風向制御によれば、グラフの凸部が正面から左右にずれるズレ度合いを調整することができる。即ち、エリアＡ１～Ａ５のうち、清浄化される場所に偏りを持たせたい場合や、隣接する２つのエリアを可能な範囲でサポートしたい場合には、可動ルーバー９の上下左右の動きにより微調整することが可能である。これらの微調整機能は、制御に組込んでもよい。 In FIG. 7, the characteristic line having the highest air purification performance at the front position is illustrated. However, as described above, this characteristic line may slightly shift to the left or right depending on the direction and the air blowing direction. . Even in this case, the tendency of the above characteristic line, that is, the tendency to decrease toward the both ends is the same, having a graph shape that is convex upward. The same trend may not be true in the vicinity of indoor walls and obstacles. However, this characteristic can be controlled by the vertical and horizontal angles of the movable louver 9. Specifically, for example, in the vertical direction, if the movable louver 9 is controlled so that the wind speed is increased by tilting the wind direction angle forward, the convex shape of the graph in FIG. 7 becomes closer to a straight line. The interior tends to be easily purified uniformly. Further, according to the wind direction control in the left-right direction, it is possible to adjust the degree of deviation of the convex portion of the graph from the front to the left. In other words, if you want to have a bias in the area to be cleaned out of areas A1 to A5, or if you want to support two adjacent areas as much as possible, fine adjustment by moving the movable louver 9 up and down, left and right Is possible. These fine adjustment functions may be incorporated into the control.
　また、空気清浄機１は、２つの送風機６を備え、該各送風機６の制御を個別に行うことができるので、上記グラフの凸形状を直線に近付けつつも、風量の低下を抑制することができる。グラフの凸形状を直線に近付けるには、可動ルーバー９の上下方向の角度設定を個別に行う方がより効率がよいが、この場合には、吹出口５Ａと吹出口５Ｂの面積がそれぞれ異なるように設定されるので、圧損が変動してしまう。しかし、送風機６が個別に設置されており、吹出口５毎に風量を制御することができれば、風量バランスを維持することが可能となる。また、逆に、風量バランスを意図的に変更し、室内での気流の循環の仕方を変更することも可能である。 Moreover, since the air cleaner 1 is provided with the two air blowers 6, and can control each air blower 6 separately, it can suppress the fall of an air volume, making the convex shape of the said graph close to a straight line. it can. In order to bring the convex shape of the graph closer to a straight line, it is more efficient to individually set the vertical angle of the movable louver 9, but in this case, the areas of the outlet 5A and the outlet 5B are different. Therefore, the pressure loss fluctuates. However, if the blower 6 is individually installed and the air volume can be controlled for each outlet 5, the air volume balance can be maintained. Conversely, it is also possible to intentionally change the air volume balance and change the manner in which the airflow circulates in the room.
［実施の形態１を実現するための具体的な処理］
　次に、図８及び図９を参照して、上述した制御を実現するための具体的な処理について説明する。まず、図８は、本発明の実施の形態１による風向制御のメインルーチンを示すフローチャートである。この図に示すルーチンは、空気清浄機１の運転中に繰返し実行されるものとする。図８に示すルーチンでは、ステップＳ１００により運転が開始されると、まず、ステップＳ１０１では、ケーシング２の向きを左右方向の初期位置（中心Ｌ）に戻す。次に、ステップＳ１０２では、風向可変範囲内で人検出手段１７を左右方向に回転させることにより、室内の人をサーチし、人の有無及び人数をエリアＡ１～Ａ５毎に検出する。この場合には、センサ回転機構２０により人検出手段１７の向きを回転させるのが好ましい。これにより、ステップＳ１０２では、ケーシング２の向きを初期位置に保持しておけるので、サーチの完了後には、風向を何れの方向に対しても速やかに変更することができる。 [Specific Processing for Realizing Embodiment 1]
Next, specific processing for realizing the above-described control will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a main routine of wind direction control according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The routine shown in this figure is repeatedly executed during operation of the air purifier 1. In the routine shown in FIG. 8, when the operation is started in step S100, first, in step S101, the orientation of the casing 2 is returned to the initial position (center L) in the left-right direction. Next, in step S102, the person detection means 17 is rotated in the left-right direction within the wind direction variable range, thereby searching for a person in the room and detecting the presence / absence of the person and the number of persons for each of the areas A1 to A5. In this case, it is preferable to rotate the direction of the human detection means 17 by the sensor rotation mechanism 20. Thereby, in step S102, since the direction of the casing 2 can be held at the initial position, the wind direction can be quickly changed in any direction after the search is completed.
　次に、ステップＳ１０３では、人検出手段１７の検出結果に基いて、何れかのエリアに人がいるか否かを判定する。この判定が不成立の場合には、ステップＳ１０４に移行し、人がいない場合の処理（後述の図９参照）を実行する。一方、ステップＳ１０３の判定が成立した場合には、ステップＳ１０５に移行する。 Next, in step S103, based on the detection result of the person detecting means 17, it is determined whether or not there is a person in any area. If this determination is not established, the process proceeds to step S104, and a process (see FIG. 9 described later) when there is no person is executed. On the other hand, if the determination in step S103 is established, the process proceeds to step S105.
　ステップＳ１０５では、風向可変範囲内で人が最も多いエリアを第１の方向として選択し、第１の方向に風向を向ける。そして、ステップＳ１０６では、第１の方向において、前述した規定の時間ｔだけ送風し、空気清浄動作を実行する。次に、ステップＳ１０７では、第１の方向として選択したエリアから離れたエリアを第２の方向として選択する。この処理において、第２の方向は、風向可変範囲の中心Ｌを基準として、ステップＳ１０６で選択した方向と左右方向の逆側に位置するエリアである。そして、ステップＳ１０８では、風向を第２の方向に向けた状態で、例えば規定の時間ｔだけ送風し、空気清浄動作を実行する。 In step S105, an area with the largest number of people within the wind direction variable range is selected as the first direction, and the wind direction is directed in the first direction. In step S106, the air is blown in the first direction for the predetermined time t described above, and an air cleaning operation is executed. Next, in step S107, an area away from the area selected as the first direction is selected as the second direction. In this process, the second direction is an area located on the opposite side of the direction selected in step S106 with respect to the center L of the wind direction variable range. In step S108, for example, air is blown for a specified time t in a state where the wind direction is in the second direction, and the air cleaning operation is executed.
　次に、ステップＳ１０９では、第１の方向として選択したエリアから同程度に離れていて、かつ、空気清浄動作を実行していないエリアが残っているか否かを判定する。この判定処理は、第１の方向として中央のエリアＡ１（図６参照）が選択された場合を想定している。具体的に述べると、例えば風向可変範囲の左右両端に位置するエリアＡ４，Ａ５は、互いにエリアＡ１から同程度の距離を有している。このため、エリアＡ４，Ａ５の何れかにおいて、まだ空気清浄動作を実行していない場合には、ステップＳ１０９の判定が成立する。この場合には、ステップＳ１１０に移行し、エリアＡ４，Ａ５のうち空気清浄動作を実行していないエリアを第２の方向として選択する。 Next, in step S109, it is determined whether or not there remains an area that is about the same distance from the area selected as the first direction and that is not performing the air cleaning operation. This determination process assumes that the center area A1 (see FIG. 6) is selected as the first direction. More specifically, for example, the areas A4 and A5 located at the left and right ends of the wind direction variable range have the same distance from the area A1. For this reason, if the air cleaning operation has not yet been executed in any of the areas A4 and A5, the determination in step S109 is established. In this case, the process proceeds to step S110, and an area where the air cleaning operation is not executed is selected as the second direction among the areas A4 and A5.
　次に、ステップＳ１１１では、選択したエリアにおいて、規定の時間ｔだけ送風し、空気清浄動作を実行する。なお、エリアＡ４，Ａ５の両方において、空気清浄動作を実行していない場合には、第２の方向としてエリアＡ４，Ａ５を順次選択し、それぞれのエリアにおいて空気清浄動作を実行する。この場合、エリアＡ４，Ａ５の優先順位については、前述したように、例えばエリア内での人との距離、汚染レベル、汚染発生回数または送風回数の何れかが大きい方のエリアを優先してもよい。また、家具等の配置が多いエリアを優先してもよい。更には、ステップＳ１０７で選択したエリアに対して左右方向の逆側に位置するエリアを優先してもよい。 Next, in step S111, air is blown for a specified time t in the selected area, and an air cleaning operation is executed. When the air cleaning operation is not executed in both areas A4 and A5, the areas A4 and A5 are sequentially selected as the second direction, and the air cleaning operation is executed in each area. In this case, as to the priority order of the areas A4 and A5, as described above, for example, the area with the larger one of the distance to the person in the area, the contamination level, the number of occurrences of contamination, or the number of times of blowing is given priority. Good. Moreover, you may give priority to an area with much arrangement | positioning, such as furniture. Furthermore, priority may be given to the area located on the opposite side in the left-right direction with respect to the area selected in step S107.
　ステップＳ１０９の判定が不成立の場合、及び、残っていた全てのエリアでステップＳ１１０，Ｓ１１１の処理が終了した場合には、ステップＳ１０１に戻る。これにより、空気清浄機１の運転が停止されない限りは、ステップＳ１０１～Ｓ１１１の処理が繰返し実行される。 If the determination in step S109 is not established, and if the processes in steps S110 and S111 are completed in all remaining areas, the process returns to step S101. Thereby, as long as the operation of the air purifier 1 is not stopped, the processes of steps S101 to S111 are repeatedly executed.
　なお、ステップＳ１０９～Ｓ１１１の処理は、風向可変範囲内に奇数個のエリアが設けられている場合にのみ実行する構成としてもよい。即ち、風向可変範囲内に偶数個のエリアが設けられている場合には、ステップＳ１０９～Ｓ１１１の処理を省略してもよい。即ち、本実施の形態において、エリアの区分方法は特に重要なものではない。本実施の形態では、「最初に送風したエリア（第１の方向）から離れているために空気清浄効果が得られ難く、かつ、空気清浄動作を実行していないエリアを第２の方向として選択する」ことが重要である。また、第２の方向は、前述した各種の選択方法を組合わせることにより、複数の方向を順次選択していく構成としてもよい。 Note that the processing in steps S109 to S111 may be executed only when an odd number of areas are provided in the wind direction variable range. That is, when an even number of areas are provided in the wind direction variable range, the processing of steps S109 to S111 may be omitted. That is, in this embodiment, the area dividing method is not particularly important. In the present embodiment, “the air purifying effect is difficult to obtain because it is away from the first blown area (first direction) and the area where the air purifying operation is not performed is selected as the second direction. It is important to. The second direction may be configured to sequentially select a plurality of directions by combining the various selection methods described above.
　次に、図９を参照して、室内に人がいない場合の処理について説明する。図９は、本発明の実施の形態１による風向制御のサブルーチンを示すフローチャートである。この図に示すルーチンでは、まず、ステップＳ２００において、ケーシング２の向きを左右方向の初期位置に戻す。次に、ステップＳ２０１では、風向可変範囲内でケーシング２を左右方向に回転させることにより、室内の汚れをサーチし、空気の汚染レベルをエリアＡ１～Ａ５毎に検出する。 Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a process when there is no person in the room will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for wind direction control according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the routine shown in this figure, first, in step S200, the orientation of the casing 2 is returned to the initial position in the left-right direction. Next, in step S201, the casing 2 is rotated in the left-right direction within the air direction variable range to search indoor dirt, and the air pollution level is detected for each of the areas A1 to A5.
　次に、ステップＳ２０２では、汚れの多いエリアがあるか否かを判定する。具体的に述べると、この判定処理では、各エリアの汚染レベルが許容限度を超えているか否かを判定する。ステップＳ２０２の判定が不成立の場合には、ステップＳ２０３に移行し、例えば室内の中央に向けて送風し、室内全体を均等に清浄化する。一方、ステップＳ２０２の判定が成立した場合には、ステップＳ２０４に移行する。 Next, in step S202, it is determined whether there is a dirty area. More specifically, in this determination process, it is determined whether or not the contamination level of each area exceeds an allowable limit. If the determination in step S202 is not established, the process proceeds to step S203, for example, air is blown toward the center of the room, and the entire room is evenly cleaned. On the other hand, if the determination in step S202 is established, the process proceeds to step S204.
　ステップＳ２０４では、風向可変範囲内で汚染レベルが最も高いエリアを第１の方向として選択し、第１の方向に風向を向ける。そして、ステップＳ２０５では、第１の方向において、規定の時間ｔだけ送風し、空気清浄動作を実行する。次に、ステップＳ２０６では、第１の方向として選択したエリアから離れたエリアを第２の方向として選択する。そして、ステップＳ２０７では、風向を第２の方向に向けた状態で、例えば規定の時間ｔだけ送風し、空気清浄動作を実行する。ステップＳ２０６，Ｓ２０７の処理は、図８中のステップＳ１０７，Ｓ１０８と同様の処理である。また、ステップＳ２０８～Ｓ２１０では、前記ステップＳ１０９～Ｓ１１１と同様の処理を実行する。 In step S204, an area having the highest contamination level within the wind direction variable range is selected as the first direction, and the wind direction is directed to the first direction. In step S205, air is blown for a specified time t in the first direction, and an air cleaning operation is performed. Next, in step S206, an area away from the area selected as the first direction is selected as the second direction. In step S207, in the state where the wind direction is directed to the second direction, for example, air is blown for a specified time t, and the air cleaning operation is executed. Steps S206 and S207 are the same as steps S107 and S108 in FIG. In steps S208 to S210, processing similar to that in steps S109 to S111 is executed.
　このように、図８及び図９に示すルーチンによれば、室内に人がいる場合と人がいない場合のそれぞれについて、風向制御を実現することができる。室内に人がいない場合には、汚れが発生し易いエリアから汚染物質を直接的に除去することができ、汚染物質が他のエリアに拡散するのを抑制しつつ、清浄化を行うことができる。これにより、人が室内に入ってきたときには、快適な環境を実現しておくことができる。 As described above, according to the routines shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, it is possible to realize the wind direction control for each of the case where there is a person and the case where there is no person. When there are no people in the room, contaminants can be directly removed from areas where contamination easily occurs, and cleaning can be performed while suppressing the diffusion of contaminants to other areas. . Thereby, when a person enters the room, a comfortable environment can be realized.
　なお、本実施の形態では、図９をサブルーチンとして例示したが、本発明では、図９をメインルーチンとして風向制御を行ってもよい。即ち、最初から各エリアの汚染レベルに基いて第１，第２の方向を選択する構成としてもよい。但し、人は、空気清浄機１から離れていても即座に検出可能であるのに対し、汚染レベルは、吸込んだ空気に基いて検出する。このため、汚染レベルの検出には時間がかかるので、汚染レベルの検出をメインルーチンとする風向制御は、空気清浄動作の応答性が低下する可能性がある。従って、図８及び図９に例示したように、人の検出をメインルーチンとし、汚染レベルの検出をサブルーチンとする風向制御を採用するのが好ましい。 In the present embodiment, FIG. 9 is exemplified as a subroutine. However, in the present invention, wind direction control may be performed using FIG. 9 as a main routine. That is, the first and second directions may be selected from the beginning based on the contamination level of each area. However, humans can detect immediately even if they are away from the air purifier 1, whereas the contamination level is detected based on the inhaled air. For this reason, since it takes time to detect the contamination level, the air direction control using the detection of the contamination level as the main routine may reduce the responsiveness of the air cleaning operation. Therefore, as exemplified in FIGS. 8 and 9, it is preferable to adopt wind direction control in which detection of a person is a main routine and detection of a contamination level is a subroutine.
　また、本発明では、例えば、汚染レベルの学習等と共に発生源を推定する機能が組込まれていれば、汚染レベルに対する応答性を一時的に高めることが可能である。従って、状況に応じてメインルーチンとサブルーチンを入れ替える等の機能を保有すれば、更に効果を発揮することができる。特に、調理動作や扉の開け閉め等は、人の検出と学習機能によりある程度推定することができる汚れ発生要因である。従って、これらの動作が推定される場合には、調理場や扉の方向から汚れが発生するものと判断し、割り込み処理をかけて風向を強制的に変更する構成とすれば、汚れの拡散を抑制することができ、より効果的である。 Also, in the present invention, for example, if a function for estimating the generation source is incorporated together with the learning of the contamination level, the responsiveness to the contamination level can be temporarily increased. Therefore, if a function such as switching the main routine and the subroutine according to the situation is possessed, the effect can be further exhibited. In particular, cooking operations, opening and closing of doors, etc. are factors that cause dirt that can be estimated to some extent by human detection and learning functions. Therefore, when these operations are estimated, it is determined that dirt is generated from the direction of the kitchen or the door, and if the configuration is such that the wind direction is forcibly changed by performing an interrupt process, the spread of dirt is prevented. It can be suppressed and is more effective.
　また、本発明では、例えば風向を左右方向にスイングしながら室内全体の空気を攪拌し、淀み個所を無くしながら清浄化する構成としてもよい。これにより、空気清浄機１の作動回数（お掃除回数）を減少させることができる。また、風向のスイングにより、人に対する風当たり感が抑制されるので、風量を大きく増加させることができる。さらに、人が居易い室内の中央部を基準として、中央部から左右両側に空気を送風することができる。 Further, in the present invention, for example, the air in the entire room may be stirred while swinging the wind direction in the left-right direction to be cleaned while eliminating the stagnation. Thereby, the frequency | count of operation (the frequency | count of cleaning) of the air cleaner 1 can be decreased. Further, since the wind direction swing suppresses the feeling of wind against the person, the air volume can be greatly increased. Furthermore, air can be blown from the central part to the left and right sides with reference to the central part of the room where people are likely to live.
　また、室内での空気清浄機１の配置によっては、例えばエリアＡ４，Ａ５に向けて送風すると、吹出し空気が壁に当たる場合がある。この場合、本発明では、例えば外部検出部１６により室内の広さ、壁の位置等を検出し、当該検出結果に基いてエリアＡ４，Ａ５が有効なエリアであるか否かを判定してもよい。これにより、例えばエリアＡ４に壁が存在する場合には、風向制御の対象からエリアＡ４を除外し、無駄な方向に空気が吹出されるのを回避することができる。また、本発明では、例えば人の位置、動き等に基いて有効なエリアを判定してもよい。具体例を挙げると、一昼夜等の期間にわたって人が検出されないエリアは、壁、障害物等が存在する無効なエリアと判定し、風向制御の対象から除外してもよい。 Also, depending on the arrangement of the air cleaner 1 in the room, for example, when blowing air toward the areas A4 and A5, the blown air may hit the wall. In this case, in the present invention, for example, the external detection unit 16 detects the size of the room, the position of the wall, and the like, and determines whether the areas A4 and A5 are valid areas based on the detection result. Good. Thereby, for example, when a wall exists in the area A4, the area A4 can be excluded from the target of the wind direction control, and air can be prevented from being blown in a useless direction. In the present invention, an effective area may be determined based on, for example, the position and movement of a person. As a specific example, an area where a person is not detected over a period such as day and night may be determined as an invalid area where walls, obstacles, and the like exist, and may be excluded from the target of wind direction control.
　次に、図１０及び図１１を参照して、風向制御の他の具体例について説明する。図１０及び図１１は、本発明の実施の形態１による風向制御の他の具体例を示すフローチャートである。詳しく述べると、図１０では、まず、ステップＳ１０５により、第１の方向として人の数が最も多いエリアを選択する。また、ステップＳ３００では、人の数が２番目に多いエリアを第２の方向として選択する。一方、図１１では、まず、ステップＳ２０４により、第１の方向として汚染レベルが最も高いエリアを選択する。また、ステップＳ４００では、汚染レベルが２番目に多いエリアを第２の方向として選択する。図１０及び図１１に示す制御は、図８及び図９に示す制御と組合わせてもよい。また、図１１に示す制御は、メインルーチンとして用いてもよい。 Next, another specific example of wind direction control will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing another specific example of the wind direction control according to the first embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, in FIG. 10, first, in step S105, an area having the largest number of people is selected as the first direction. In step S300, the area having the second largest number of people is selected as the second direction. On the other hand, in FIG. 11, first, in step S204, an area having the highest contamination level is selected as the first direction. In step S400, the area with the second highest contamination level is selected as the second direction. The control shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 may be combined with the control shown in FIGS. Further, the control shown in FIG. 11 may be used as a main routine.
　なお、前記実施の形態１では、図８から図１１に示すルーチンにおいて、ステップＳ１０５，Ｓ２０４が第１の方向選択手段の具体例を示している。また、ステップＳ１０７，Ｓ１１０，Ｓ２０６，Ｓ２０９，Ｓ３００，Ｓ４００は、第２の方向選択手段の具体例を示し、ステップＳ１０６，Ｓ１０８，Ｓ１１１，Ｓ２０５，Ｓ２０７，Ｓ２１０，Ｓ３０１，Ｓ４０１は、清浄制御手段の具体例を示している。 In the first embodiment, steps S105 and S204 in the routines shown in FIGS. 8 to 11 show specific examples of the first direction selection means. Steps S107, S110, S206, S209, S300, and S400 show specific examples of the second direction selecting means, and steps S106, S108, S111, S205, S207, S210, S301, and S401 are the cleaning control means. A specific example is shown.
　また、前記実施の形態１では、一般的な家庭で用いる空気清浄機１を例に挙げて説明した。しかし、本発明はこれに限らず、空気清浄機１と同等の空気清浄機能を有する各種の設備機器に適用してもよい。 In the first embodiment, the air cleaner 1 used in a general home has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to various types of equipment having an air purifying function equivalent to that of the air purifier 1.
１　空気清浄機，２　ケーシング，２Ａ　隔壁，３　台座，４　吸込口，５，５Ａ，５Ｂ　吹出口，６　送風機，６Ａ　ファン，６Ｂ　モータ，７，７Ａ，７Ｂ　風路，８　清浄化手段，９　可動ルーバー，１０　ルーバー駆動部，１１　開口可変機構，１２　開口駆動部，１３　整流機構（風向可変機構），１４　整流駆動部（風向可変機構），１５　水平回転機構（風向可変機構），１６　外部検出部（情報検出手段），１７　人検出手段，２０　センサ回転機構，２１　汚染検出手段（情報検出手段），２２　操作部，２３　制御部（記憶手段） 1 Air Cleaner, 2 Casing, 2A Bulkhead, 3 Base, 4 Suction Port, 5, 5A, 5B Outlet, 6 Blower, 6A Fan, 6B Motor, 7, 7A, 7B Airway, 8 Cleaner, 9 Movable Louver, 10 louver drive unit, 11 aperture variable mechanism, 12 aperture drive unit, 13 rectification mechanism (wind direction variable mechanism), 14 rectification drive unit (wind direction variable mechanism), 15 horizontal rotation mechanism (wind direction variable mechanism), 16 external detection unit (Information detection means), 17 person detection means, 20 sensor rotation mechanism, 21 contamination detection means (information detection means), 22 operation part, 23 control part (storage means)

Claims (12)

  1. 　空気の吸込口及び吹出口を有するケーシングと、
    　室内の空気を前記吸込口から吸込んで当該空気を前記吹出口に送風する送風機と、
    　前記吸込口から吸込まれた空気を清浄化する清浄化手段と、
    　前記吹出口から吹出す空気の風向を予め設定された風向可変範囲内で左右方向に変更可能な風向調整機構と、
    　室内の人や動物に関する情報と、空気の汚染源や汚染レベルに関する情報のうち、少なくとも一方の情報を室内情報として取得する情報取得手段と、
    　前記室内情報に基いて前記風向調整機構を制御する制御部と、を備え、
    　前記制御部は、
    　前記風向可変範囲内で最初に空気を清浄化すべき方向である第１の方向を前記室内情報に基いて選択する第１の方向選択手段と、
    　前記風向可変範囲内で前記第１の方向の次に空気を清浄化すべき方向である第２の方向を選択する第２の方向選択手段と、
    　前記風向を前記第１の方向に向けた状態で規定の時間だけ空気清浄動作を実行した後に、前記風向を前記第２の方向に変更して空気清浄動作を実行する清浄制御手段と、
    　を備えた空気清浄機。     A casing having an air inlet and an outlet;
    A blower that sucks indoor air from the suction port and blows the air to the outlet;
    A cleaning means for cleaning air sucked from the suction port;
    A wind direction adjusting mechanism capable of changing the wind direction of the air blown from the air outlet in the left-right direction within a preset wind direction variable range;
    Information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the information on indoor people and animals and the information on air pollution sources and levels as room information;
    A controller that controls the wind direction adjusting mechanism based on the room information,
    The controller is
    First direction selecting means for selecting a first direction, which is a direction in which air should be first cleaned within the variable air direction range, based on the room information;
    Second direction selecting means for selecting a second direction which is a direction in which air is to be cleaned next to the first direction within the air direction variable range;
    A cleaning control means for performing the air cleaning operation by changing the wind direction to the second direction after performing the air cleaning operation for a specified time in a state where the wind direction is directed to the first direction;
    Air purifier with.
  2. 　前記第１の方向選択手段は、前記風向可変範囲内で人の数が最も多い方向、または、前記風向可変範囲内で空気の汚染レベルが最も高い方向を前記第１の方向として選択する請求項１に記載の空気清浄機。 The first direction selecting means selects, as the first direction, a direction having the largest number of people in the wind direction variable range or a direction having the highest air pollution level in the wind direction variable range. The air cleaner according to 1.
  3. 　前記第１の方向選択手段は、前記風向可変範囲内に人が存在する場合に、人の数が最も多い方向を前記第１の方向として選択し、前記風向可変範囲内に人が存在しない場合には、空気の汚染レベルが最も高い方向を前記第１の方向として選択する請求項１に記載の空気清浄機。 When the first direction selecting means selects a direction having the largest number of people as the first direction when there are people in the wind direction variable range, and there is no person in the wind direction variable range. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a direction having the highest air pollution level is selected as the first direction.
  4. 　前記第２の方向選択手段は、前記第１の方向が前記風向可変範囲の左半分と右半分のうち何れか一方の範囲内で選択されたときに、前記第２の方向を他方の範囲内で選択する請求項１から３のうち何れか１項に記載の空気清浄機。 The second direction selecting means sets the second direction within the other range when the first direction is selected within one of the left half and the right half of the wind direction variable range. The air cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is selected by:
  5. 　複数の方向に人が存在し、かつ、前記第１の方向として人の数が最も多い方向が選択された場合に、前記第２の方向選択手段は、人の数が２番目に多い方向を前記第２の方向として選択する請求項１から４のうち何れか１項に記載の空気清浄機。 When there are people in a plurality of directions and the direction with the largest number of people is selected as the first direction, the second direction selection means selects the direction with the second largest number of people. The air cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is selected as the second direction.
  6. 　複数の方向で空気の汚染レベルが許容限度を超えており、かつ、前記第１の方向として汚染レベルが最も高い方向が選択された場合に、前記第２の方向選択手段は、汚染レベルが２番目に高い方向を前記第２の方向として選択する請求項１から５のうち何れか１項に記載の空気清浄機。 When the air pollution level exceeds a permissible limit in a plurality of directions and the direction with the highest contamination level is selected as the first direction, the second direction selection means has a contamination level of 2 The air cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a second highest direction is selected as the second direction.
  7. 　複数の方向で空気の汚染レベルが許容限度を超えており、かつ、前記第１の方向として汚染レベルが最も高い方向が選択された場合に、前記第２の方向選択手段は、過去において許容限度を超える汚染が最も多く発生した方向を前記第２の方向として選択する請求項１から５のうち何れか１項に記載の空気清浄機。 When the contamination level of air in a plurality of directions exceeds an allowable limit and a direction having the highest contamination level is selected as the first direction, the second direction selection unit may limit the allowable limit in the past. The air cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the direction in which the most contamination exceeding the maximum value is selected as the second direction.
  8. 　前記第１，第２の方向選択手段は、人の数が等しい２つの方向のうち何れか一方を選択する場合に、空気清浄機から人までの距離が大きい方の方向を選択する請求項１から７のうち何れか１項に記載の空気清浄機。 The said 1st, 2nd direction selection means selects the direction with the larger distance from an air cleaner to a person, when selecting either one of two directions where the number of people is equal. The air cleaner according to any one of 7 to 7.
  9. 　前記第１の方向で空気清浄動作を実行する時間は、前記室内情報に基いて設定する請求項１から８のうち何れか１項に記載の空気清浄機。 The air cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the time for performing the air cleaning operation in the first direction is set based on the room information.
  10. 　前記風向可変範囲を複数のエリアに区分し、前記第１，第２の方向の選択及び前記室内情報の取得を前記エリア単位で実行する請求項１から９のうち何れか１項に記載の空気清浄機。 The air according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the wind direction variable range is divided into a plurality of areas, and the selection of the first and second directions and the acquisition of the room information are executed in units of the areas. Cleaner.
  11. 　個々のエリアに送風した送風回数を前記エリア毎に記憶する記憶手段を備え、
    　人の数または汚染レベルが等しい２つのエリアのうち何れか一方を選択する場合に、過去の送風回数が多い方のエリアを選択する請求項１０に記載の空気清浄機。     A storage means for storing the number of times of air sent to each area for each area,
    The air cleaner according to claim 10, wherein when one of two areas having the same number of people or the same contamination level is selected, the area having the larger number of past air blows is selected.
  12. 　空気の吸込口及び吹出口を有するケーシングと、
    　室内の空気を前記吸込口から吸込んで当該空気を前記吹出口に送風する送風機と、
    　前記吸込口から吸込まれた空気を清浄化する清浄化手段と、
    　前記吹出口から吹出す空気の風向を予め設定された風向可変範囲内で左右方向に変更可能な風向調整機構と、
    　室内の人や動物に関する情報と、空気の汚染源や汚染レベルに関する情報のうち、少なくとも一方の情報を室内情報として取得する情報取得手段と、
    　前記室内情報に基いて前記風向調整機構を制御する制御部と、を備え、
    　前記制御部は、
    　前記風向可変範囲内で最初に空気を清浄化すべき方向である第１の方向を前記室内情報に基いて選択する第１の方向選択手段と、
    　前記風向可変範囲内で前記第１の方向の次に空気を清浄化すべき方向である第２の方向を選択する第２の方向選択手段と、
    　前記風向を前記第１の方向に向けた状態で規定の時間だけ空気清浄動作を実行した後に、前記風向を前記第２の方向に変更して空気清浄動作を実行する清浄制御手段と、
    　を備えた空気清浄機能を有する設備機器。     A casing having an air inlet and an outlet;
    A blower that sucks indoor air from the suction port and blows the air to the outlet;
    A cleaning means for cleaning air sucked from the suction port;
    A wind direction adjusting mechanism capable of changing the wind direction of the air blown from the air outlet in the left-right direction within a preset wind direction variable range;
    Information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the information on indoor people and animals and the information on air pollution sources and levels as room information;
    A controller that controls the wind direction adjusting mechanism based on the room information,
    The controller is
    First direction selecting means for selecting a first direction, which is a direction in which air should be first cleaned within the variable air direction range, based on the room information;
    Second direction selecting means for selecting a second direction which is a direction in which air is to be cleaned next to the first direction within the air direction variable range;
    A cleaning control means for performing the air cleaning operation by changing the wind direction to the second direction after performing the air cleaning operation for a specified time in a state where the wind direction is directed to the first direction;
    Equipment with air purifying function.
PCT/JP2014/071909 2014-08-21 2014-08-21 Air purifier and appliance having air purifying functionality WO2016027352A1 (en)

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